Monday, November 29, 2004

FILM: The Music Man (2003)

I was very impressed with the impeccable details that went into ABC's TV production of The Music Man. For sure it was very Disney-fied, and some people may hate that, but I liked it. Probably it helped that I didn't watch the classic 1962 version. I didn't mind that it was a very innocuous, unrealistic, and artificial production cuz heck it's a musical! Also, the dance numbers were well choreographed.

Matthew Broderick plays the lead role, Professor Hill, who is a con artist that arrives in an unsuspecting small town in Iowa. Who would have known that Ferris Bueller would sing in Broadway in the future! I can't ever imagine this guy aging. His performance in The Music Man seemed lacking though. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching Broderick sing and dance because I get such a kick out of it. Bueller, Bueller, Bueller, Bueller...

I really liked the production design. Disney doesn't hesitate to splurge when it comes to achieving a "look." Hope it gets an Emmy. The costumes and sets were gorgeous. It turns out that this production was filmed in Canada (Ontario to be exact). I could always tell when a movie or tv show is filmed in Canada because of the Canadian actors that appear in it. And I can tell whether it was filmed in Western or Eastern Canada depending on which particular Canadian actors appear (Toronto actor Patrick McKenna gave it away for this movie). Vancouver and Toronto each have their own circle of actors particular to each respective region. Yes, I'm a freak for knowing this.

::4 stars::