M2d
01-20-2003, 02:26 PM
As a disclaimer, I never saw the stage show, so any speculating I do about the merits of the movie versus the stage production are merely that: speculation.
It was pretty entertaining. I can see how difficult it was to adapt the stage show to the big screen while keeping the spirit of the stage intact. I think they did an admirable job of it.
The movie format provides the director a means of maintaining the story line better than is possible than on stage. They were able to provide action scenes spliced into dance and song numbers to help the audience understand the plot lines. I can see where live audiences could have been puzzled about the meanings of some of the songs, but the movie format kept the plot going.
The movie probably lost some of the effect that the live dance numbers had. They were fun on screen, but would have been more impressive live.
Queen Latifa was surprisingly good as mama, and Richard Gere showed off some hoofing talent. My only real complaint was too many Renee' Zellweiger closeups. She's cute in general, but closeups bring out all of her (aesthetic) flaws.
It was pretty entertaining. I can see how difficult it was to adapt the stage show to the big screen while keeping the spirit of the stage intact. I think they did an admirable job of it.
The movie format provides the director a means of maintaining the story line better than is possible than on stage. They were able to provide action scenes spliced into dance and song numbers to help the audience understand the plot lines. I can see where live audiences could have been puzzled about the meanings of some of the songs, but the movie format kept the plot going.
The movie probably lost some of the effect that the live dance numbers had. They were fun on screen, but would have been more impressive live.
Queen Latifa was surprisingly good as mama, and Richard Gere showed off some hoofing talent. My only real complaint was too many Renee' Zellweiger closeups. She's cute in general, but closeups bring out all of her (aesthetic) flaws.