There is of course no accounting for sense of humor, and I suppose there are intelligent people who will find the entire movie funny. I managed to crack a few smiles. But for those of you who find modern musicals (that is, since about West Side Story) pretentious and self-important, this movie contains a brilliant extended sendup of the genre. We've been subjected to musical Peronism, heard the Hunchback break into song, seen the Savior Himself presented as a rock star, and put up with the ridiculous chronicle of a deaf, dumb and blind kid who "sure plays a mean pinball." Well, it was only a matter of time before they got around to the Elephant Man, in a musical called "Elephant!"--with the obligatory exclamation point.
I can't remember how any of the songs go, but then I can't remember how any of the songs go in A Chorus Line either. When this happens in a real musical, one wishes for the days of Rodgers and Hart or the Gershwins. When it's a satire, it's hysterical. If in the middle of a movie about something else, they can throw together ten minutes worth of song and dialog that mimic the style so flawlessly, the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim are knocked down at least one peg. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple of guys.
I can't remember how any of the songs go, but then I can't remember how any of the songs go in A Chorus Line either. When this happens in a real musical, one wishes for the days of Rodgers and Hart or the Gershwins. When it's a satire, it's hysterical. If in the middle of a movie about something else, they can throw together ten minutes worth of song and dialog that mimic the style so flawlessly, the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim are knocked down at least one peg. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple of guys.