Post by klep on Jun 20, 2016 6:36:49 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/20: Enchanted
THIRD WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
Most of Disney's animated features revolve around a fairly simplistic vision of romance. A boy and a girl meet each other, realize that they are each others' One True Loves, and come through obstacles to find their Happily Ever After. It's a formula exemplified by the trope of True Love's Kiss, where the lovers share a kiss that resolves their problems or closes out the narrative in a satisfying fashion.
But this is still a simplistic view of relationships and the way love develops, and Enchanted seeks to show how it runs up against reality. It does this in a very straightforward manner: it literally takes an animated Disney princess looking for her One True Love and plops her in the middle of our non-animated New York City. Gisele (played with adorable naiveté by Amy Adams) loses none of her wide-eyed wonder and seemingly magical abilities in the transition to "reality." She can still talk to animals, she can make beautiful dresses out of random fabric in no time at all, and she can compel people and animals into choreographed musical numbers.
As she and her Prince wander New York searching for each other, Robert (Patrick Dempsey) is trying to explain to her that Happily Ever After doesn't really exist, there's just happy now; that True Love isn't a matter of recognizing our partner, but something that comes from growth and time together. He's party right, but also too pessimistic about the future as a result of his own life experience. The film sees the two of them coming towards each other's points of view and finding the middle ground that more accurately reflects what life is really like.
And then at the end it undermines it by having Gisele&Robert and Nancy&Edward getting their Happily Ever Afters after knowing each other for nearly no time at all. It's an understandable end for the film, but it's still a weird one that is jarring compared to the more grounded message it had been promoting to that point.
Did the ending do that for you? What are your favorite musical moments of the film? My personal favorite is Happy Working Song, but I also loved how True Love's Kiss pushed the classical tropes to 11 with just enough of a wink to clue the attentive viewer in to what was going on.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/27: The Young Girls of Rochefort
FOURTH WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
As is only fitting, we will close out Musicals Month with a joyous Jacques Demy musical. The Young Girls of Rochefort is a romantic comedy full of bright colors and lovely musical numbers. It's a treat to watch, and I hope you'll be joining us. The Young Girls of Rochefort is available on Hulu Plus, and Jacob Roth will stream it on The Dissolve Couch this Friday evening.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/16: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Thirty years have passed since This Is Spinal Tap, but the music mockumentary is still following its formula. Next Wednesday we'll have a day to discuss how Popstar and This Is Spinal Tap share DNA and where the new film explores new ground. Popstar is still in theaters.
THIRD WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
Most of Disney's animated features revolve around a fairly simplistic vision of romance. A boy and a girl meet each other, realize that they are each others' One True Loves, and come through obstacles to find their Happily Ever After. It's a formula exemplified by the trope of True Love's Kiss, where the lovers share a kiss that resolves their problems or closes out the narrative in a satisfying fashion.
But this is still a simplistic view of relationships and the way love develops, and Enchanted seeks to show how it runs up against reality. It does this in a very straightforward manner: it literally takes an animated Disney princess looking for her One True Love and plops her in the middle of our non-animated New York City. Gisele (played with adorable naiveté by Amy Adams) loses none of her wide-eyed wonder and seemingly magical abilities in the transition to "reality." She can still talk to animals, she can make beautiful dresses out of random fabric in no time at all, and she can compel people and animals into choreographed musical numbers.
As she and her Prince wander New York searching for each other, Robert (Patrick Dempsey) is trying to explain to her that Happily Ever After doesn't really exist, there's just happy now; that True Love isn't a matter of recognizing our partner, but something that comes from growth and time together. He's party right, but also too pessimistic about the future as a result of his own life experience. The film sees the two of them coming towards each other's points of view and finding the middle ground that more accurately reflects what life is really like.
And then at the end it undermines it by having Gisele&Robert and Nancy&Edward getting their Happily Ever Afters after knowing each other for nearly no time at all. It's an understandable end for the film, but it's still a weird one that is jarring compared to the more grounded message it had been promoting to that point.
Did the ending do that for you? What are your favorite musical moments of the film? My personal favorite is Happy Working Song, but I also loved how True Love's Kiss pushed the classical tropes to 11 with just enough of a wink to clue the attentive viewer in to what was going on.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/27: The Young Girls of Rochefort
FOURTH WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
As is only fitting, we will close out Musicals Month with a joyous Jacques Demy musical. The Young Girls of Rochefort is a romantic comedy full of bright colors and lovely musical numbers. It's a treat to watch, and I hope you'll be joining us. The Young Girls of Rochefort is available on Hulu Plus, and Jacob Roth will stream it on The Dissolve Couch this Friday evening.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/16: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Thirty years have passed since This Is Spinal Tap, but the music mockumentary is still following its formula. Next Wednesday we'll have a day to discuss how Popstar and This Is Spinal Tap share DNA and where the new film explores new ground. Popstar is still in theaters.