The party where I watched the Oscars telecast last night was pretty heavy on theater people, and for the most part we thought it was an entertaining show. But we were decidedly split on what broadcast producers Bill Condon and Larry Marks probably thought was a favor to us (or as a text message coming in from another party put it, “You’re welcome, gays”): The Baz Luhrmann musical number.
The wafer-thin excuse for the medley, that Mamma Mia surpassed Titanic at the U.K. box office and that means movie musicals are back all of a sudden, is patently ridiculous. Moulin Rouge, Chicago and the Condon-directed Dreamgirls have all been huge presences at the show earlier this decade, and also? This is the Oscars, not the BAFTAs, and nobody here cares about the Brits’ bad taste in musicals. Still, Bill and Baz apparently saw their opportunity and seized it. In my mind, there are two ways to look at it:
1) This is the broadest exposure musical theater has gotten in decades! Wolverine and Beyonce endorse the form, and teen idols Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens get invited out of the Disney Channel ghetto and into the fold. And those kids from Mamma Mia are, uh, there! Hey, it beats those old Debbie Allen dance numbers. Or Rob Lowe and Snow White.
2) Okay, it’s not as eye-searingly offensive as Rob Lowe and Snow White, but still. This is why people hate musicals. Dude, Baz, Top Hat was 74 years ago, and you’re using it as the basis of your argument that musicals are “back”?! Way to reinforce musicals’ outdated image. Plus, this “medley” is a hot mess. Layering Jesus Christ Superstar over Hairspray does. Not. Compute. And only 0.5% of the audience actually knows any of the non-HSM musicals you’re referencing, anyway. Plus, Zac Efron looks like a dildo in that tux. You made Zac Efron less hot. FAIL.
What do you think? Did Condon and Luhrmann come to praise the musical and accidentally bury it instead? Or are kids across the country adding West Side Story to their Netflix queues today?
why can’t they take a relevant song like the Kinks “Celluloid Heroes”
or something that’s not as antique as Cole Porter (much as i love him!)——
and why a medley? why not take one song and do it up big——
Baz needs to be buggered by Busby . . .
I didn’t necessarily mind that the act included some fairly older references, what irked me was the fact they were celebrating the musical as a comeback. When I counted last, there was 1 major musical this year… in the UK. I haven’t seen Australia, but I don’t think it’s a musical, so why celebrate a comeback of a genre that is not exactly gaining popularity among US audiences?
I got to give the opening number a plus, if only because it allowed Shirley Maclaine’s heartfelt and generous ad lib later in the evening about Anne Hathaway’s singing. A fairer comment would be “this is why SOME people hate musicals”. Speak for yourself, sir. I disregard any posting with the word “dude” in it. At least after I get through posting a response. If and when Nine gets a Best Picture nomination next year, then will the movie musical be back?
Rob, I was presenting two hypothetical points of view on the number; neither is quite my own opinion. As for Nine, I have high hopes for it, but my larger point was that we feel compelled to declare the movie musical “back!” every time a new one is released, even though it’s kinda been “back!” all decade.
One thing that I learned form this last Academy Award ceremony, as put by Hugh Jackman is that “The Musical is Back!” And to hear that makes me happy, yet if the musicals to expect are similar to the Hugh Jackman along with Beyonce and then the other couples my excitement would flatten down like a top hat that retracts into its portable form. It was glittery, glamorous and gloriously put today’s musical stars of tomorrow along with the pros that rock the boat presently. Yet what lacked in this number was the creativeness and imagination; the musical coherence and fluidity that the opening number had, for example. The unfortunate piece sounded like Luhrman was Dr. Frankenstein with a broken needle trying to somehow put together several pieces that would not match and align with each other. The songs lacked the incredible seemengless transitions that the same man gave us in the elephant meadley in Moulin Rouge. And if that was not enough, he decided to do the Radiohead at the Grammy’s thing: incorporate the (Trjoan) Marching Band into the song, which resulted in the butchering of the Mamma Mia! song. Also using the song At Last sung by the same Beyonce in the inauguration ball was just out of place. Baz Luhrman’s expression said it all.
There were a total of four musical numbers in the ceremony on Sunday, these being the opening medley; Luhrman’s abomination; Queen Latifah singing during the In Memoriam montage; and the medley of the three nominated songs for best original song. The opening number was by far the best one followed by Latifah’s “I’ll Be Seeing You,” followed by the song nominees and in the end comes the unfortunate event. I do have to say that I enjoyed the inclusion of songs from the classical musical like Top Hat. And I am pretty sure that it is more than 0.5% that know the music that was used. It’s the Oscars after all, not the Super Bowl. In general this ceremony was practically held by the incredibly talented Hugh Jackman and some other star appearances (some better than others). The spectacle of the production design and the décor of the theater was what probably caused Jackman to use pizza boxes for the opening number, as it was over-the-top swarowsky-esk shining. But after all, it achieved what it promised: a night of entertainment, fun and music! As whether the musical is back, I think it never left, it just became stronger (except for that piece of shenanigans).
You’re just jealous because you didn’t think of it! lol.
I for one LOVED this number…I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve re-watched it! Personally I’m not a fan of HSM (I couldn’t finish the first one)…buuuut, if it is getting the younger generation into musicals, then that is great!
Musicals ARE back! Think about it…every other genre ALWAYS has a rather large audience…musicals are limited to the more intelligent people :). People are starting to smarten up, and enjoy the journeys that musicals can take you on! lol.
Anyway…in short…I love love LOVE this number…Baz Luhrmann is amazing…life is awesome because I’ve seen this clip! lol (k, that is a BIT over the top…but I’m keeping it in there..)