Based on the careers of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast:
Frankie Valli- John Lloyd Young
Tommy DeVito- Vincent Piazza
Nick Massi- Michael Lomenda
Bob Gaudio- Erich Bergen
Bob Crewe- Mike Doyle
Gyp DeCarlo- Christopher Walken
Frankie's first wife, Mary- Reneé Marino
Francine Valli, Frankie's youngest daughter- Grace Kelley (4)/Elizabeth Hunter (7)/Freya Tingley (17)
Write-up:
Introduction... to Jersey Boys and their music
This was one of those Broadway shows I'd heard about from other people. People saying how much they enjoyed it and would recommend. The first I heard of it, I think I was in 10th grade. I'd wanted to see it on hype alone and seeing the movie sold me... but unless it's disappearing completely from Broadway, I'm not in a huge rush about it. We only just went to see "Les Miz" so having a gap between musicals is no big deal.
Hopefully in a couple years, it won't be raining in New York like it has these past couple times...
My familiarity with Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons beforehand was minimal at best. The first time I saw Frankie Valli was his "Full House" cameo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5o5awdfutw
I tell ya, after seeing the movie, had he been 60 years younger... #Swoon
"Oh, What a Night!" was probably the only other song I was familiar with for the longest time... then "Walk like a Man" walked its way into my heart as my favorite song by the group in an underrated RDJ comedy, "Heart & Souls"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvvL3-36kxI
watching this again, I was about to say the Jersey Boys were so much... then RDJ finally came in with a great bass part in the final 30 seconds of footage.
[short synopsis: he has to help four ghosts complete their unfinished business]
Early Casting News
I was especially excited when they announced this movie because Jon Favreau was going to be the director and Dominic Cooper was being considered for one of the roles.
Then later, Clint Eastwood took over the directing, which had me concerned the movie [based on what appears to be a fun show] would be too serious. And the fact I didn't recognize any of the actors that they cast was another cause for concern.
As it turns out, I have nothing to worry about. Sure, I'd miss seeing Dominic Cooper [I bet he would have been cast as Tommy DeVito and killed it], but I wouldn't change any of these casting choices for a second.
It'd be like making substitutions in the core cast of The Breakfast Club... just wouldn't work as well, that chemistry.
"Oh, What a Night!"On our Norweigen Cruise, in addition to "Rock of Ages," they were showing a Four Seasons tribute under this name.
The guys all had great voices and looked great. My one nit-pick was that one of them was blonde and therefore didn't quite fit in. I almost wanted a CD of theirs afterwards... then I remembered that the real thing is way better.
Lots of fun covering all those songs with some LOL moments...
Some Thoughts...
Unlike many other Broadway musicals adapted from a band/group's discography, "Jersey Boys" was actually based on the lives of these guys. Immediately after seeing the movie, my thoughts were how much of it was biographical and how much was Hollywood.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/06/20/jersey_boys_accuracy_fact_checking_clint_eastwood_s_four_seasons_biopic.html
[tread lightly, some spoilers in the movie are attached in this article as well as the rest of this entry... and just for the sake of argument, I will continue forward talking about the movie, not about the actual people it's been upon]
Originally, the group was called The Three Lovers, which apparently was one of a dozen name changes it went through before fate gave them "Four Seasons" [even without reading into it, The Three/Four Lovers is such a STUPID name- no wonder it didn't happen for them for a while].
Frankie's friends, Tommy and Nick DeVito and Nick Massi formed the group and he would occasionally sing lead with them. The DeVito brothers were involved in some shady stuff that gave them lengthy rap sheets, prompting Nick to say the music thing probably wouldn't happen for him, giving Frankie his spot in group permanently.
But with a voice like that, how it affected everyone in the room, it's surprising this conclusion wasn't drawn sooner. Before we even hear that famous falsetto, Frankie drew me in... charisma and raw natural talent.
[Anyone who can make Christopher Walken cry with their voice... that's powerful stuff]
Much of the movie was about how the group came together (Bob Gaudio, who co-wrote almost all the hits, was introduced to them via Joe Pesci- yeah, the actor, albeit a younger version) and skyrocketed to stardom... but had some bumps along the way.
Namely, Tommy DeVito's outrageous debt [Frankie had to have been an ANGEL to forgive him AND pay it himself] and Frankie's rocky personal life with his wife Mary and daughter Francine (the other two daughters, we see briefly and get no lines at all).
The movie did the music justice and the music was used tastefully whenever it was incorporated- whether they were performing them or they were playing the background. A little cheesy, yes, but I loved how they put the first three hits into the movie.
"Sherry" was randomly written by Bob on the way to meeting the guys to call Bob Crewe, their record producer. "Big Girls Don't Cry" was randomly said while the guys were watching a Clint Eastwood movie.
I especially loved the conversation where one of the guys asked what it meant to "walk like a man"... hilarious-- by that point, I was still getting over the fact they included my favorite Four Seasons track in the movie.
More Spoilers...
The only negative I can derive from any point of the movie was when they explained Tommy's debt situation. The guys arrive at the Ed Sullivan show with a debt collector waiting for them backstage. We then proceed to spend 10 minutes of flashbacks... it just gets a little tedious and convoluted after a while, hard to really follow.
But the end result is Frankie taking on the debt, Tommy being shipped off to Vegas [per Gyp's suggestion- he helped mediate this meeting] and Nick finally makes good on his word that he's quitting the group [he says a version of this at least three times throughout the movie].
This is when Frankie starts doing some solo shows.
Another emotional turn happens when Francine, who had been pursuing a similar musical career, dies.
I saw this movie twice within a week because on the premiere night on HBO, I fell asleep around this point [not cuz of boredom, my work schedule]. I woke up within the last 10 minutes plus the credits. My mom mentions something about her dying and I literally gasp "she died?"
Imagine that impact if I'd stayed awake and saw that moment when Frankie got the news transpire...
Major kudos to John Lloyd Young's acting here [there's a reason why he was recruited right from the Broadway show of the same name and it wasn't just his voice]... I felt every emotion he went through. Hearing Bob Gaudio talking to him in the diner, saying how he was so heartbroken by this that it was killing him.. got me right in the heart.
And of course the one song that brings him out of his state was "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Bob gave him the sheet music in the diner to look at and hours later, Frankie gives him a call to explain what was missing from the song.
Truly a magical movie moment.
The next scene I was fully conscious for was the final one: when the guys reunite for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame induction. They perform "Who Loves You" (probably my least favorite of their songs, actually), each break the fourth wall one final time, and the credits roll like a curtain call.
One of my favorite elements of this movie was the 4th wall-breaking. The guys giving us an inside look into what's going on behind the scenes, where their heads were at and such. Those unfamiliar with the show like I was would appreciate that inside information in case something wasn't clear.
Not surprisingly, Frankie doesn't get a chance to do this until the RnR HoF performance... it just makes it all the more special that he didn't address us, the audience, until the near end of the movie.
Then the credits... it starts with (as Frankie explained in his bit) the four guys singing together under the street lamp and they break into "Oh, What a Night." All the actors come out for one final bit of screen time, the guys smile to the camera and perform.
I was fighting back tears both times... the first because I'd missed a big chunk of the movie... the second time, I was very happy to finally see the whole movie, and I was sad to see it end. Ugh, I hope I'm not gonna be like that with musicals from this point.
The only one I hadn't lost it during was "My Fair Lady" (I did plenty of that when our high school did it, though).
It was such a great pay-off moment. Not just to hear this song, but to see everyone one final time.
Introduction
Like with my "Into the Woods" entry, "Broadway" is used loosely...
On our recent Norwegian Cruise, we had an on-ship production of "Rock of Ages."
Both version have their pluses and minuses, but I'll start by reviewing the movie because it was my initial point of reference.
Rock of Ages (2012)
Cast:
Sherri- Julianne Hough
Drew/Wolfgang Von Colt/Joshy Z- Diego Boneta
Stacee Jaxx- Tom Cruise
Patricia Whitmore- Catherine Zeta-Jones
Mayor Whitmore- Bryan Cranston
Dennis Dupree- Alec Baldwin
Lonny- Russell Brand
Paul Gill- Paul Giamatti
Justice- Mary J. Blige
Constance- Malin Akerman
Honorable Mention
T.J. as the Rolling Stone receptionist
Anyone who had even skimmed my blog or knows me personally knows I'm a huge fan of the 80's. Particularly of their music and John Hughes movies.
"Rock of Ages" does a fair job of bringing that particular era to life... I still feel that it suffers from an image problem :P if it were up to me, 80's music would focus on the trifecta of Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson, British bands [Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode and Thompson Twins to name a few] and countless one-hit wonders focusing heavily on synthesizers and electronics.
I certainly wouldn't have focused on the "hair metal" motif. My biggest nit-pick on this front is that a lot of the songs are ones I'd heard millions of times and was sick off after the first 10 times. Again, that's just a matter of personal preference.
Story
Julianne Hough plays Sherri, an Okie going to the Sunset Strip in search of fame and fortune. Of course she’s got that farm girl naivety down pat (except for the fact she has NO trace of an accent)… and if not for the people she meets, she wouldn’t have lasted a day out there…
That’s no joke. After a mash-up at least 4 different songs, some random punk steals her records… you might not think that was the best thing to steal, but he definitely could get more money for selling them than just taking her purse.
After this theft, her future love interest, Drew arrives to ask if she’s okay…
this entire time, I’m thinking “you idiot! go catch that guy!”… that had me cringing, the writing on that was sooo bad… they make up for it later, but still… c’mon!
Drew works at The Bourbon Room, which is a bar that has a stage where all the big acts come from and come back to play… so I guess it kinda is like First Avenue, but with head-banger rock instead of R&B
It’s run by Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand, both are excellent in their roles (and I’m not the biggest fan of Baldwin either)… who humor Drew and give Sherri a job waitressing.
The bar is up in arms because the rock band Arsenal is coming to play their last show before its frontman, Stacee Jaxx goes solo… The Bourbon Room launched his career, so the two of them go way back… and they need this because their finances are on the brink.
The first part of the movie is devoted to the blossoming relationship between Drew and Sherri, with plenty of musical numbers to boot…
I had trouble taking things seriously because it was just happening way too fast… talk about unrealistic
On the other side of things, you also have Catherine Zeta-Zones. Her character is the wife of the mayor, and as a “God-fearing” citizen, she and her cronies picket the streets across the Bourbon Room, proclaiming that rock n’ roll is filch…
those kinds of people just annoy the HELL out of me. She’s no big threat, though, and her key motivation makes it all worth it in the end.
The movie really got started for me when Tom Cruise hit the scene as Stacee Jaxx… when he was first casted, none of us took the idea of him in this role seriously… he proved us wrong like you wouldn’t believe…
probably will go down as one of my favorite roles of his EVER
because Stacee Jaxx is just soooo out there, but what he says makes a strange amount of sense.
It’s also hard to beat the fact he has a pet baboon (his introduction is hilarious in itself) that knows how to cop an attitude… but you know what they say about dogs taking after their masters
You also get to know his manager, played by Paul Giamatti in his typical role…. slimier than a snake oil salesman… if there’s any sort of villain in this movie, other than the misunderstandings, it’s him…
While waiting to go on stage, Stacee Jaxx has an interview with a girl from Rolling Stone magazine… who’s very uptight, but not entirely immune to the charm to Stacey Jaxx…
the two of them have a song together… a Foreigner classic… will never able to think of that song the same way again… let’s just say they used it somewhat disrespectfully
but they had a moment they won’t soon forget ;)
and Tom Cruise is a pretty decent singer too… in the “I’m surprised he could sing” sort of way, not so much “he’s so flipping amazing, he should totally quit his day job"
Before Drew goes on to debut with his band, he sees Sherri and Stacey Jaxx leave a room together and believes he saw more than what was there…
After doing a great number with his band (I’d never heard “I wanna rock” b4), he and Sherri have a fight and break up. Her perspective isn’t quite as well-written. After some random girl (with no other lines in the movie) tells her “that spotlight doesn’t just make them shine, it makes us disappear," she believes the fame has already gone to Drew’s head
It kinda reminded me of that random girl in “Moulin Rouge” that asked the villian “why does the girl end up with the penniless writer, oh, I mean sitar player”… but it wasn’t her ONLY purpose in that movie.
So Drew and Sherri quit the Bourbon Room and go their separate ways.
Sherri is saved from the streets by Mary J. Blige, who owns a strip club, and gives her a waiting position, but later tells her that the real money is on the pole.
Meanwhile, Drew becomes the slimey manager’s latest conquest. Apparently rock is no longer on the cutting edge, so he ends up becoming part of a boy band called the “Z guy-eez”
Because of the great playlist, this quickly became one of my dad's guilty pleasures. And this was the point in the movie where he kinda stopped having fun… ugh, nobody "got" boybands in the 80’s… it bugs me how everyone (including the cast members) passed it off as a joke. Boy Bands would go on to rule the world in the following decade... and at present, one still currently does (although after Zayn left, we'll see how One Direction will fare).
All of the characters arcs are finished pretty well. Of course Drew and Sherri eventually make up. The truth about Catherine Zeta-Jones is revealed and it’s Russell Brand who figures it out cuz he spends most of the movie asking where he’d seen her before.
The slimey manager gets his ass handed to him by Stacee Jaxx and his baboon when he finds out, through the Rolling Stone article, what he did to the Bourbon Room- raking in all the proceeds
Stacee also places a call trying to track down the girl that interviewed him. This exchange between him and TJ Miller (Stainer from “she’s out of my league”) is probably my favorite scene in the whole movie… freaking hilarious ![]()
And considering this is an 80’s era movie, what better song to play it out with than some Journey…
Drew first tells Sherri that he wrote it after they met… the whole time, I’m laughing at the TV something like “you liar! you didn’t write that song! Steve Perry did”
Rock of Ages (on stage)
Story [with differences]
The general ideas remain the same between both versions.
We have our love story (although it's not as clearly defined in Drew's eyes) that falls apart and comes together after much tribulation.
The Bourbon Room is still on the brink of foreclosure, but this time, it comes dangerously close to demolition. (Whereas in the movie, it never closes down and the opposition to its existence poses next to no threat).
The biggest difference between the two lies in Stacee Jaxx's involvement. He and Sherry do sleep together [in the movie, Drew saw them come out a room together looking suspicious and jumped to conclusions]. Afterwards, he claims that she's a negative influence on the Bourbon Room and she gets fired [in the movie she quits after Drew breaks up with her]. And he complicates things forever by showing up at her strip club, her boss forcing her to give him a dance and Drew catching them together.
To put it bluntly, though, Stacee Jaxx is just plain unlikeable in this version.
We also have a few additional characters. In place of the mayor and his wife, we have a German real estate developer and his son, Franz, threatening to tear the place down [and almost succeed... all the mayor's wife did was picket and claim with her followers that rock music is filth]. The Bourbon Room is also gifted with an additional defender in this version: a Berkeley student named Regina.
Likes and Differences
I guess in deciding between both versions, you can have to decide what you'd rather vie for. Do you prefer Stacee Jaxx being a dirt bag or being insanely deep?
Or would you prefer Sherry and Drew to have more character development and believability?
Because I feel like that was the big difference between the two.
Stacee Jaxx is explored so much in the movie and takes up so much screen time that we don't get as much time to focus on the love story. As a result, the love story falls victim to countless clichés.
To name a few:
1) he's the first guy she meets when she comes to LA
2) he gets her a job at the Bourbon Room where he also works
3) they fall in love almost immediately and get a montage dedicated to their puppy love
4) [the biggest one] the most random details lead to them breaking up
Julianne Hough was really good in "Footloose," but I really didn't like her in this movie. Her dialogue delivery was weak on so many points and the script doesn't exactly allow her to make a strong impression. [Sherry had much better writing in the stage show].
"Hit me with your best shot" [when it comes to Pat Benatar, give me "Heartbreaker" and "Love is a Battlefield" any day] also benefitted from the on-stage treatment. Granted, both versions of this number are very goofy and it's all about personal preference.
In the movie, the mayor's wife and her followers do the stupidest choreography through a series of church pews.
In the play, Franz is singing this song to his father when he decides to go against him... for me, it was hilarious in the best possible way because the villain needs to be taken down a peg. It also helped foster what seemed to be the most obvious allusion-- but apparently, according to Franz, he's not gay, he's German. [Also loved the dorky moment where he forced a "Rock me Amadeus" reference].
His father's comeuppance is also pretty sweet. He gets drunk after his son abandons him and he starts singing an REO Speedwagon song "Keep on lovin' you" and the band refused to back him on it. [Whenever they were acknowledged by the cast members, the crowd cheered]
Another huge difference is the character, Lenny. He's played by Russell Brand in the movie, but in the stage show, he had more to do than just trying to figure out why the major's wife looked so far familiar... he also wears the narrator hat and breaks the fourth wall. Especially hilarious when he reads the script to Drew, explaining the whole "friend zone" thing.
"Oh Sherri" also gets a bigger part on stage. We just hear the opening bars played in one scene. You would think with one of the main characters having that name that they'd do more than that. But Drew has an epic moment where he's running in place to get to Sherri, singing this song, and he's joined by a bunch of random cast members (and our cruise director, Julie). Then he gets to Sherri, out of breath, he exhales "Hold on..." before she can get a word in.
Final Comments
Too bad the writing of Drew and Sherri wasn't as good in the movie... otherwise, the movie would have won hands down.
I still feel like the movie is the best version (mainly because I love Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx and hate that the character was kind of an antagonist in the original stage show), but the show has its positives as well.
Exposition
I'm all about lists, yet I never got around to making one about the best days of my life :P But if I ever did, this particular day I'm about to go into is top 3 easily...
"Mamma Mia!" is one of those musicals that's really family-oriented. It focuses on the bond between mother and daughter and as well as fathers and daughters. That particular day, my dad took my sister and I to New York to see it... that Saturday in June 2006 per that moment was probably "the best day ever"... the quintessential best day ever... we saw a musical we really enjoyed, my dad surprised us afterwards when he gave us the CD's he bought during intermission [or maybe before it started, not sure], and we went to a restaurant for one of my favorite dinners ever [Salmon Imperial... my mouth still waters thinking about it. Sadly, this restaurant closed just recently.
Whenever I listen to the soundtrack, it takes me back to that day instantly. I remember the overture and the excitement billowing in me. The musical numbers and how they were set up, I still remember really well.
There was also a time when I was in college where I almost couldn't listen to the soundtrack. Certain songs ("Lay your love on me" and "Under attack") were too poignant given what I was going through at the time... or they just made me miss home too much.
A couple years later, they adapted the movie to film, so my mom, sister and I went to the theaters to see it. We weren't quite dancing in the aisles, but enjoyed ourselves... but the movie isn't without its flaws.
At the present moment, I'm inclined to believe that Broadway wins [again] by a landslide, but I'll break my discussion into a couple categories to figure out how true that is.
Casting
First the positives...
Amanda Seyfried was the perfect Sophie. I think this was her first big role since "Mean Girls" and it was a great performance. Probably my favorite of hers still... not that I've ever been disappointed.
The duo of Christine Baranski and Julie Walters as the other Dynamos, Tanya and Rosie, rocked it... other than the "Does your mother know?" number and one particular line ("You're supposed to blow, not suck"- it was regarding an air mattress but nonetheless got a lot of laughs), Tanya wasn't memorable in the Broadway version. The same goes for Rosie and "Take a Chance on Me"... but even that number was better in the movie.
Of the three guys, Colin Firth was the best casting choice. A perfect Harry Bright.
:sigh:
I can have my nitpicks about the choice of songs, how the arrangement differed from Broadway... but my biggest grievances lie with the two leads...
For the record, I quite like Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Julie & Julia"... the issue I have in general is that she's nominated for an Oscar nearly EVERY year...
To this day, I maintain that casting her and Pierce Brosnan as Donna and Sam was NOT because they were the best people for the job...they were cast because Hollywood wanted big names for this movie... as if they weren't confident enough in the huge following this musical has...
Firstly, Meryl Streep was shy of 60 when she was cast for "Mamma Mia!"... Donna is supposed to be a middle-aged woman in her mid 40's, assuming that she met Sam, Bill and Harry when she was in college... therefore too old...
Secondly... :sigh: "The Winner Takes it All" is supposed to be this big triumphant number breaming with feminine energy. Her vocal range didn't allow for that big finishing note, so when it finally came and didn't happen... the bottom fell out of my stomach, I was so disappointed. [As for my biggest disappointment of the movie, see the soundtrack section]
Meanwhile, Pierce Brosnan... I don't care that he was freaking James Bond for 4 movies... I think I only saw "Die another day" and he was quite good... I'm even willing to give him the age thing... only 55 when "Mamma Mia!" was cast...
HE CAN'T SING!
"S.O.S." was painful, his voice was so bad. I'm sure there are dozens of actors in the right age range with a much better singing voice...
This movie also introduced me to Dominic Cooper, who I may forever associate with the character of Howard Stark (aka Tony Stark's father)... as great as he was, I fell out of love with him during his overreaction scene- where he accuses Sophie of using their wedding as an excuse to find who her dad is... that's kinda harsh... also kind of a silly nitpick considering my opposition to the above casting choices.
I also understand that they changed Bill Austin to Bill Anderson for the movie because Stellan Skarsgard wouldn't have matched with the whole "Indiana Jones travel writer" thing Bill Austin had going on... having that said, I sometimes wish they didn't change the character and cast Keith Urban instead :P even if the age range is off by quite a few years
Soundtrack
I suppose the best way to address this is going through the soundtrack song by song and saying who did the better version.
1. I have a dream (tie)
Both version are still very clear in my head
2. Honey, Honey (tie)
Both versions were memorable, but the dialogue where Sophie and her friends were reading "dot dot dot" in Donna's diary was much funnier on Broadway
3. Money, Money, Money (Broadway)
-Broadway- I still remember the set-up well... Donna is on one side of the stage and during the company interjections, they shift the spotlight to them... vocally superior and funner
-Hollywood- includes daydreams of what Donna, Tanya and Rosie would do with the extra money... vocals are good, but aesthetically I prefer the former.
4. Thank you for the music (Broadway)
-Broadway- vocals is shared by Sophie, Sam, Bill and Harry, and introduced early on
-Hollywood-song was deferred to the end credits
5. Mamma Mia! (tie)
Both versions handled it well. The staging was more hilarious in the movie, but Donna's dialogue on the Broadway soundtrack is funnier ("I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to clean out my handbag... or something")
6. Chiquita (Hollywood)
-Broadway- I don't remember this number quite as well, but it was a sentimental pep talk
-Hollywood- lots of hilarious moments that made me fall in love with Tanya and Rosie in this version
7. Dancing Queen (Hollywood)
-Broadway- great vocals
-Hollywood- great vocals, great humor, great use of the set and company
8. Lay all your love on me (Broadway)
-Broadway- vocally superior and I personally prefer their aesthetic to the movie
-Hollywood- great humor with Sky's friends marching in their masks and fins
9. Super Trooper (tie)Both versions were great with the movie being more on the sentimental side
10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Broadway)
-Both versions did it really well, but again, I prefer the vocals and the dialogue of the Broadway version to the movie
11. The name of the game (Broadway)
-vocally, Amanda Seyfried sang this really well for the movie... but the producers, for whatever reason, decided to cut this scene and include it among the DVD extras... so I had no choice but to give the point to Broadway
-personally, this number is another sentimental one for me because it makes me think of my dad... after all, this is the point in the story where Sophie confronts Bill about whether he's her father.
12. Voulez Vous (tie)
-prefer the Broadway dialogue, but both versions did this really well
-Tally so far:
Broadway (5), tie (5), Hollywood (2)
13. Under Attack (Broadway)-obviously because this number was omitted from the movie entirely... one of my favorite songs... this dream sequence was one of the most memorable moments... Sophie's in a bed that's being moved back and forth across the stage by Sky's friends wearing snorkeling gear
14. One of Us (Hollywood)-technically, this song was omitted from the movie, but they made the smart choice by limiting its involvement to dialogue... the song is so short, I completely forgot about it
15. S.O.S. (BROADWAY)
-Broadway- remember this number really well too... they had spotlights on Donna and Sam depending on who was singing
-Hollywood- bad singing aside, this number felt kinda phony because it had one singing while the other was doing some random activity without hearing them singing... as if it was something from "Glee" (and I'm a huge Gleek, btw)
16. Does your mother know? (Hollywood)
-the Hollywood version was more hilarious (thanks to Christine Baranski's performance) and memorable... don't remember much about the Broadway version
17. Knowing me, knowing you (Broadway)
-my biggest disappointment from the movie was cutting this, my favorite song from the musical... I agree it would have been repetitive in the movie (since we already had that impressive "S.O.S." number) and Pierce Brosnan's voice would have ruined it, but I almost wanted to cry because they didn't include it
-the man who played Sam... both on the soundtrack and on stage, I loved their vocals on the final note leading to the chorus... "...Goodbye" and "...say"... one of my favorite vocal numbers in the musical
18. Our Last Summer (Broadway)
-Broadway- a duet between Donna and Harry, revisiting their "hippie summer" in Paris
-Hollywood- took the place of "Thank you for the music," much earlier in the script and instead featured Sophie with the three men... I just didn't buy into that interpretation of it :(
19. Slipping Through My Fingers (Hollywood)-Hollywood handled the sentimentality of this number really well... I don't remember it nearly as well on Broadway
20. The Winner Takes it All (Broadway)
-in the movie, this number felt very long and drawn out...
-Broadway- had this been a concert, this would have been the penultimate standing ovation number... that big note at the end is just... WOW... the movie missed a huge opportunity here
21. Take a Chance on Me (Hollywood)
-Broadway- still remember how Rosie was chasing Bill through the empty church before the wedding :P
-Hollywood- the 2nd to last song with lots of hilarious turns and we also get to see Harry's other half (they also clarified in the church scene that Donna was the first [and last] woman he ever loved... which kinda makes sense when you really think about it]
22. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (Hollywood)
-I don't really remember it in the Broadway version... it was kinda funny in the movie where Sam flashes the ring at Donna and she stammers through the titular lyrics :P nice touch
23. I Have a Dream (Reprise)... (tie)
-Broadway- I don't remember the scene all that well, but the ending of the song gave me chills... and made me so sad this thing was ending... that's a great feeling to have at the end of a show, hating to see it end
-Hollywood- it was a pleasant send-off and great ending... hated to see it end, but it didn't elicit an "ugly cry" response...
The great part with both versions is that they had the encore at the very end... in the Broadway musical, after being sad it was ending, the cast came out and sang a couple more songs for us.
It's great they kept this in the movie for the ending credits, including everyone wearing the ABBA-style costumes :D
Tally-
Broadway (5), Hollywood (5), tie (1)
So by my math, the musical numbers give Broadway the upper hand...
Another difference between the two was the inclusion of two new songs in the movie...
"Waterloo" was in the ending credits, and we also getting another excellent Pierce Brosnan vocal for "When all is said and done"... which takes place before "Take a Chance on Me"..
Even if the vocal was decent, I felt like this song added absolutely nothing to the movie... painfully forgettable...
So there you have it... over the three times I've done this, Broadway has won against Hollywood... I'd do one on "Phantom of the Opera," but my memory of the Broadway show is basically nonexistent at this point...
I don't remember much about the Broadway show beyond the following...
1) the first scene where Christine and Raoul meet each other for the first time since they were kids
2) where the Phantom has the road around Raoul's neck in the catacombs and I was freaking out that he was going to kill him (even though I freaking knew the ending!!)
3) been a hot mess for a good 15 minutes after the show ending because of #2
It just wouldn't be fair to compare the two when I don't remember enough about one side of the argument. And I've grown far too fond of the 2004 movie with Gerard Butler that I probably won't accept any other version anyway :P
Exposition
A week before I saw "Into the Woods," I revisited the Broadway version I'd become accustomed to... not just to refresh my memory, but also so I can argue both sides effectively.
I also mentioned in my theatrical review
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2015/01/theatrical-review-into-woods.html
that the show was our high school musical... and still hadn't lived down the fact I didn't get cast.
But aside from revisiting my case of sour grapes, I will take our production into account as well in my discussion.
Differences: Stage to Screen
Spoilers for those who hadn't seen either
For the most part, the movie was a streamlined version of the play. Several subplots, most of which took place in Act 2, were removed.
The most notable: the reprise of "Agony" where the Princes discover Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and move onto their next conquests.
For the most part, this was a positive in my view. Doing the same song again with some new verses just would have been repetitive. Not to mention there was no way they'd be able to top "Agony" the first time... where Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen were, to parphase a movie quote, "frolicking in the [water] and shit"... puffing out theirs chests, ripping open their shirts... again, we need a Razzie for that scene. Hilarious for all the wrong reasons.
Another positive: we eliminated the death of Rapunzel. The last time we see her, she runs away with her Prince, choosing him over The Witch. I also thought the subplot was ridiculous where she bore twins... unlike with the Baker and his wife, that was just a detail that didn't add anything to the overall plot.
The lone negative, as I made clear in my review, was that the focus fell squarely on Cinderella's Prince cheating and painted him in a pretty horrible light.
The most obvious difference between the two was that Act 2 were severely edited in the film, which helped with the overall runtime, but made some of the action and drama feel rushed.
Two characters were "eliminated," who were coincidentally played by the same guy, the narrator and the mysterious man.
Fans of the play know The Mysterious Man was later revealed as The Baker's father. His father appeared in the film in one scene as a ghost. Some might dismiss it as a Deus ex machine- meaning a plot device randomly thrown in to resolve an otherwise unsolvable dilemma.
And we still had a narrator, but not in a corporeal state-- meaning we wouldn't see one of my favorite scenes from the play-- where all the characters turn on the narrator and feed him to the giant.
Maybe I just enjoy that scene because it was an equally hilarious moment in our high school production. Michael was the perfect casting choice for that role.
A couple of songs were cut- for better or worse.
I kinda missed "No More," which we only heard in the musical score after The Baker confronts his father's ghost. I still remember Ms. Cloak, our choir teacher, drawing attention to the fact the Broadway actor was flat on the final note of the song.
One big difference I noticed: the movie was the first time the role of Jack was played by a young boy. In the wake of NBC's "Peter Pan live" I found out young roles were given to people vastly older due to old child labor laws... which would explain why I'd only seen Jack played by a man in his teens or 20's.
It makes the circumstances of his character hilarious and sad... depending on how you look at it... seeing an older young man rebelling against his mother :P Had it been a modern take on the tale, he'd also been living in her basement... but in a modern take, there'd be no need for The Woods, would there?
Casting
The meat of my entry will focus on this... mainly because the players in a show are where my general focus is. Just as I'd only begun to note directors, producers and composers over the past 3-4 years.
The Witch
Bernadette Peters vs. Meryl Streep
I knew this one would be tough for me to address going into the movie.
To her credit, Meryl Streep brought her own je ne sais qua to this role and made it her own. Thanks to special effects, The Witch does a better job of appearing randomly on the scene, scaring the bejeezus out of the characters... she appears as suddenly as the disappears and it's the perfect combination of terror and comedy. Her rendition of "Stay with me" was also very heartfelt and sympathy is better able to manifest... if only for a split second.
However, Bernadette Peters is still QUEEN at this role she originated on Broadway. Heck, The Witch was my favorite part of the play. As sinister as she is, she has a wicked (no pun intended) scene of comedic timing. She also handled both version of her role with equal care.
I didn't get that with Meryl Streep's version. Whatever appeal she had as this character vanished after the "youthful transformation" at the end of Act 1.
The explanation of The Witch's demise after "The Last Midnight" was better in the movie, but otherwise, Bernadette Peters did the song MUCH better. Her tongue laced with sarcasm and irony, she made every lyric and note mean something.
Sarah, the actress who played her in our musical, did really well around. When I heard she was cast, it wasn't a surprise. Her voice was strong and she played a good villain. And still managed to bring the necessary sarcasm and made both versions of the role count. Although I'm pretty sure she did the "younger" version better.
The Baker's Wife
Joanna Gleason vs. Emily Blunt
Both actresses nailed their role from different angles. Joanna Gleason gave such a great comedic performance, an act hard for anyone to follow (the fact she won a Tony for this is not a surprise).
Yet Emily Blunt made it work for me. She gave this character passion and humanity, making her untimely death all the more upsetting. And her ghost's appearance at the end of the movie all the more bittersweet.
The Baker
Chip Zien vs. Richard Corden
In this case, I have to give it to the originator. Richard Corden's "stage" presence felt subservient to all the strong female leads. With the omission of "No More," that emotional pay-off never happened in the movie. The only place where he comes out on top, thinking again of Ms. Cloak, was vocally. His voice was stronger than Chip's.
Now that I think about it, I might dare to say my friend Drew played The Baker better than both of those guys combined :P that's not entirely favoritism, he really did the role well. He certainly had the perfect vocal range and held his own on stage.
Cinderella
Kim Crosby vs. Anna Kendrick
The "transformation" from rags to ball gowns was more awe-inspiring in the play... namely because Cinderella wore glasses at her father's home and mysteriously got granted contacts for the remainder of the show.
Anna Kendrick's beauty was always apparent. She just needed to get cleaned up and have something nice to wear to the festival.
Overall, I have to give the win to Anna Kendrick. This was a role that felt like she was born to play it... which leads me to wonder why she didn't get the Golden Globe nomination over Emily Blunt.
She brought all the right emotions, making us get on her side immediately. The scene where she's mourning the destruction of her mother's gravesite, I felt something when she did it. Some of this was thanks to script rewrites.
The omission of the line "all my dreams have just been crushed" was a huge improvement because I felt, even for a dramatic scene, it was overly dramatic to the point of being cliché.
Actually, a lot of the script changes were ones that benefitted Cinderella. Like when she's talking to the birds and they tell her, supposedly, about the Prince cheating. Instead of saying "I don't care!" she says "that doesn't matter now." It makes her character less passive.
The Wolf
Robert Westenberg vs. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp more or less wins by default... because it's freaking Johnny Depp.
The changes to the script, detracting from the pedophilia innuendos, came in his favor.
Plus, with his vocals, he made us almost wish his character didn't get killed... even though we all knew it was coming.
Little Red Riding Hood
Danielle Ferland vs. Lilla Crawford
I guarantee if Sophia Grace were here, I'd be giving the win to the Broadway actress.
But since she isn't here, I have to give props to both of the girls.
In the original, this character was feisty and so full of sarcasm that she got a lot of laughs from the audience. She was so good I was afraid, like with The Witch, I had my fears that some would be lost in the translation.
But Lilla brought the feistiness I expected and then some. The only thing missing was the laugh that came with her reaction to Cinderella- "you can talk to birds?" Wasn't quite as funny in the movie as it was in the play.
Conclusion
We're more or less comparing apples and oranges at this point. Per my math, I have a tie between the two versions. I certainly watch both multiple times, although not as often with the Broadway version (because that extra half hour makes it feel like three). For nostalgia's sake, I think I still prefer Broadway.
Per my records, that's 2 for Broadway and 0 for Hollywood so far.
Exposition
In a couple weeks, it will have been 2 years since my mom and I saw Tom Hooper's adaptation of "Les Miserables." Among one of the most endearing, wildly loved musicals EVER.
Some time later, more of my family watched it with us. My younger sister fell more in love than anyone else. We can only assume that it's officially her #1 movie ever.
And more than anything, she wanted to see it on Broadway since a revival was announced.
Several months later, we found ourselves doing just that. As a belated 25th birthday present, we would be spending a weekend in New York City.
To me, there's nothing more magical than NYC in Christmas time. Thanks to "Home Alone 2" I believe that the Rockefeller Center tree is the biggest tree in the country. If not the most important. So there was that to be excited about.
The only real negative was the horrendous weather. All of us were packed under umbrellas, trudging the streets from the hotel to the Imperial theater, dinner afterwards and back to the hotel.
If not for the rain, I'd have taken more pictures... or pictures in general, really :P It would have been interesting to note that in the theater district, I was closer to more stars than I'd ever been... All of them just happened to be inside the nearby buildings.
- James Earl Jones (You can't take it with you)
- Emma Stone and Alan Cumming (Cabaret)
- Idina Menzel (If/Then)
- Bradley Cooper (The Elephant Man)
Whenever we go to the city, I always fantasize that I'll run into some celebrity since so many live there... but as of yet, it still hasn't happened. Not that I plan on giving up on that ;)
But one day it would be really cool to get a chance to see a celebrity I recognize in a Broadway show.
The Musical itself
Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't seen any adaptation of "Les Miserables"
Compared the 2012 film, everything was naturally scaled down quite a bit. Various set pieces came out of the walls. The most impressive was probably during the barricade scene in Act 2 where soldiers were actually in the balconies on the side of the stage to shoot at the students.
I especially loved the backgrounds. One scene, you saw a shrouded forest with snow falling. The way they showed Javert jumping off the bridge, falling into the water was super impressive. Great special effects.
With maybe one exception, all of the actors were just as good... if not BETTER than any of the actors featured in the film.
Javert
People have gone on and on about how Russell Crowe has a terrible singing voice. One even said he ruined the movie for them. Coming from someone who didn't even like the guy before seeing the movie, I was impressed with him. He certainly had the fear-inducing presence Javert needed as a villain. And his rendition of "Stars" was actually one of my favorite numbers in the movie.
Will Swenson didn't grab me as strongly as Russell Crowe during that one specific number. But overall, he played the bad guy very well. He was a powerful menacing figure you couldn't help but gravitate towards while fearing what he'll do. He also aged better than Russell Crowe (where the aging throughout the story barely registered).
In general, I'd say that I preferred the Broadway actors because I hadn't seen any of them before. I knew several of the film actors from other projects so putting them together almost feels like putting several pieces from different puzzles together.
Comparatively, not knowing any of the Broadway actors, they felt like they belonged together. The chemistry is more genuine and you truly feel like you're part of a collective experience.
Fantine
As much as I love Anne Hathaway, I'll admit there are points in the film where her presence was a little distracting. Or maybe it's because I'd seen her in roles so different from this that she felt out of place. But she does come through where it counts... Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" was THE selling point of the teaser trailer.
In the musical, this famous song comes before her downward spiral towards death. So to me, it felt odd how she was lamenting when the worst she experienced was just being fired for the foreman. Yet the placement works. She sells her hair and her body and the transformation happens practically in front of your eyes... therefore more believable.
Caissie Levy really brought it for her big solo number [my first tears of the show] and how she appears at the end of the show to escort Jean Val Jean to heaven... nothing short of magical. Ethereal in a flowing white gown (not to mention all of her hair had grown back!) like she was an angel from heaven.
Eponine
Vocally, I'd have to still place Samantha Barks ahead of Nikki M. James. Her voice wasn't quite as strong and at times it felt nasally or constricted.
However, as a street urchin like her parents, knowing what she knows and doing what she does, she fit the bill better. She certainly was a scrappy little thing.
And her solo ("On my own") got me choked up me, more than I had while watching the movie.
Cosette
Samantha Hill had a heck of a range! Which leads me to believe this is one of those Broadway roles that demands a mezzo-soprano range. Amanda Seyfried, unfortunately, doesn't quite have that. Samantha's voice also complimented the actor playing Marius better than Amanda with Eddie Redmayne.
Marius
For his first big role, Eddie Redmayne did this role really well. But again, I have to give it to Andy Mientus, his current Broadway counterpart. Both are strong vocally, but the acting was better. The chemistry between him and Cosette was better.
Then two other big differences:
Marius mourned Eponine's death much more on Broadway than he did in the movie. That reaction was great to see. He may not have loved her like Cosette, but they had been friends for a long time.
The staging of "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" was also more emotional on Broadway. In the film, we see Marius singing in a room filled with empty furniture. In the Broadway show, he was on stage with a series of candles. Each would come to be held by one of his fallen brothers who appear as ghosts, one candle for each.
If not for the waterworks, I'd have gotten chills over that.
The Thenardiers
In this particular case, I might have to call in a draw. Just because there were bits and pieces I enjoyed from both versions. I loved Helena Bonham Carter in this role and certainly love the camaraderie between her and Sasha Baron Cohen.
But with John Rapson and Christianne Tisdale, the chemistry was different yet it worked just as well. She stole a lot of applause and laughs from him because she spends her time mocking the kind of person he is. A dysfunctional marriage more than partners-in-crime. They also got more "screen time" during the wedding scene, leading to more shenanigans and even more laughs. Especially when she's laughing at HIS expense.
The boy who played Gavroche (the youngest member of the student rebellion), Gaten Matarazzo... he was a real scene-stealer. Every second he was on stage, we were all endeared to him. He also got away with some obscene stuff that come off as adorable instead of offensive :P
On those grounds, the explicit content of the show was handled cleverly. Whereas in the film, it was a bit more obvious. However brief, the two sex scenes (one involving Fantine, the other at the Thenardiers' inn) either disrupted the illusion or (in the case of the second) felt awkward, out-of-place and unnecessary.
And the girl who played young Cosette... her voice was SO GOOD at her age. Angeli Negron. My mom swear she started sobbing when she sang her first note.
Which just leaves me with one. One that is Jean Val Jean.
Nathaniel Hackmann... where do I start? He had us all bound to him from the beginning. He aged more naturally than Hugh Jackman did, showed a better range of appearances (other than adding or removing wigs and facial hair). His voice had one of the most spectacular ranges I'd ever heard.
Everyone projected well and there were no bum notes, but it was up to him to produce the perfect first impression. Since he was the first character we got to see on the stage.
While he has some credits in smaller venues, on national tours for various other musicals, what makes him particularly impressive was this being his first BROADWAY gig.
And December 6th just happened to be his birthday.
Aftermath
I think I must have cried 5-6 times throughout the show. Once in the first act. Almost during "One Day More". Then multiple times in the last hour. If not for the emotions, I would have cheered louder for my favorite actors. Which was practically everybody at this point.
What I really liked was what happened after the curtain call. Nikki James and Will Swenson told us about a charity they were promoting called Broadway Cares/Equality Fights AIDS, which raises money to fight AIDS. It's something all the shows are collecting for. Supposedly "Phantom of the Opera" (probably my all-time favorite musical, even now) is kicking their butts. And they had all kinds of goodies to give away for each donation.
I gave $5 and got a "Dream the Dream" wristband. (In the back of my mind, I was close to picking a Team Javert button... but the wristband was something I'd likely have more use for).
I guess the nice thing I found about it was that we got to spend a little more time with these actors. There was that interaction with them. That bond we spent 3 hours forging. We all shared this amazing collective experience together so seeing them step away from their roles was cool.
It also left room for much needed laughter, helping us get over ourselves.
Will Swenson joked about why the child actors wanted to get into Broadway and whoever races to the counter first can get the conductor's autographed baton in exchange for a donation :P
Yep, by the time it was all over, I hated to leave, but we had other places to go. And we had to face the rain again soon or later.
