With Tim Burton's marvelous (and overlooked) adaptation of SWEENEY TODD arriving on DVD this week, This Weekend's Film Festival honors the five best musical adaptations of the 21st Century so far. Ever since MOULIN ROUGE revitalized the screen musical, we have seen at least one or two stage musicals coming to movie theaters each year. So with no further ado, let's raise the curtain and begin our countdown of the best.
Now we start off the lineup with a cheat. TOPSY-TURVY isn't a straight adaptation of a stage musical, but a look at Gilbert and Sullivan's creation and first performance of their famed musical, THE MIKADO. It's also a cheat because it had a limited run at the end of 1999, making it eligible for the 2000 Oscar, where it won for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup. And I know 2000 isn't really the 21st century either, but if you're going to cheat than you might as well go for it with gusto. Moreover, I decided to choose this film over inferior adaptations of other Broadway musicals, so consider it a favor.
Mike Leigh's TOPSY-TURVY is a delightful look at the creative process and the clash of cultures. W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, played marvelously by Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner, respectively, have reached a dry patch in their career, which is straining their already tense partnership even more. Then Gilbert gets a strike of inspiration at a Japanese culture exhibition and the rest is history. As I said in my original review, "Sometimes watching talented people do what they do is far more captivating than plots with inflated drama. With Gilbert and Sullivan being 'characters' as well, the experience is all the more fun." In addition to capturing the personalities of its central characters wonderfully, the production captures the London of 1885 with flare. Subtly constructed with wit and wonder, this film is one of the best behind-the-scenes look, as well as bio-pics, ever made. Because the placement of this film on the list is a cheat in many ways, I'm placing it at #5, but that doesn't mean it's the least successful film in the countdown by any means.
Taking the 4th slot is a film-turned-Broadway-musical-turned-film. Adam Shankman's HAIRSPRAY is the film version of the musical adaptation of John Waters' cult classic film. Tracy Turnbald, played with boundless energy by Nikki Blonsky, is an overweight teen who dreams of being a dancer on the local Baltimore ’60s dance show The Corny Collins Show. But station manager Velma von Tussle, played devilishly by Michelle Pfeiffer, doesn't want plump freaks or negroes dancing on the same stage as her reining Miss Hairspray daughter Amber (Brittany Snow). Tracy takes up the cause, not only becoming a sensation on the show, but fights to expand "Negro Day" to every day. As I said in my original review, "The subversive wit when skewering the white bread nature of the early 1960s is deviously fun. It’s light and frothy, but not airheaded." John Travolta's turn in drag and a fat suit as Tracy's mom is entertaining, while Christopher Walken proves he can do anything as Tracy's optimistic father. With a great cast and loads of excitement, this musical puts a smile on your face and never lets it fall.
Coming in at #3 is the Oscar-winning Best Picture, CHICAGO. While some might complain about the star casting diminishing the music, this witty musical has enough razzle-dazzle to stop the show on many occasions. The story is simple — wannabe singer Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) offs her lover and makes headlines. With the guidance of her slick lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), she becomes the toast of the town, overshadowing the last infamous femme fatale Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). As I said in my original review, "This is the kind of film that you think back on and say to yourself 'hey, that was a great scene' and by the time you’re done you’ve said that about two-thirds of the scenes in the film." Director Rob Marshall can take credit for this success after capturing the classic big flashy numbers that grand musicals call for. Each sequence is given its own subtext that adds smarts and humor to the production. While stars Zellweger, Zeta-Jones and Gere hold their own with the tunes, Oscar-nominated Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly shine. Outside of Gere, all the leading cast members received Oscar nods for the film that firmly declared that the musical wasn't dead at all.
The second best musical adaptation is Bill Condon's DREAMGIRLS. This tour through the rise of R&B music follows the Dreamettes, which includes fiery, overweight siren Effie (Jennifer Hudson), the beautiful and innocent Deena (Beyonce Knowles) and the ditzy Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose). Along the way they will be guided by anything-goes business man Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) as they start as back-up singers for soul singer James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy) before branching out on their own. As I said in my original review, "This rousing musical is full of life and will go down in history for one of the greatest musical performances captured on screen." That performance comes from Hudson, who deservingly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance of “You’re Gonna Love Me” is one of the most emotionally charged musical numbers ever captured on screen. In addition to the great musical performances, the film has great characters. While they're characters we've seen before, this cast makes us care about them, creating new life for these individuals. I closed by original review by saying this — "It seems like Hollywood gives us at least one musical each Oscar season now, and this is the benchmark on how to take a contemporary Broadway hit and transport it to the screen."
With such praise for DREAMGIRLS how could it not be #1? It's because Burton's SWEENEY TODD is "a great film [that] comes from the melding of the right content with the right artist," to quote my original review. Stephen Sondheim's bloody musical comes to the screen bloody brilliantly. Purists argue that it doesn't slavishly adhere to the stage production, but that's what often makes a screen adaptation successful. Burton makes the movie version filmic. Sweeney Todd, played wonderfully in an Oscar-nominated performance by Johnny Depp, returns to London to seek revenge against those who wronged him — chiefly Judge Turpin, played with typical devilish flare by Alan Rickman, who convicted Todd of a crime he didn't commit, so he could steal the barber's wife and daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener), who now lives as Turpin's ward. As Todd starts slitting the throats of his enemies (and a variety of unlucky clients), meat-pie baker Mrs. Lovett, played in a tragically overlooked performance by Helena Bonham Carter, takes lemons and makes lemonade out of the problem of piles of corpses. Including Sacha Baron Cohen as rival barber Pirelli, Timothy Spall as Turpin's lackey Beadle Bamford, Ed Sanders as Mrs. Lovett's assistant Tobias, and Jamie Campbell Bower as Johanna's young suitor, the entire cast is excellent. Perfect production and costume design add to the perfect tone and performances, crafting not just the best musical since MOULIN ROUGE.
So it's going to be a musical extravaganza this week. So it's your turn to give me your best musical adaptation picks. Now it's that time again to head to the video store, update the rental queue, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings or buy the films at the below links.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
