This is a movie I got to watch from a special Park Circus Cinema showing in my local theater.
Writer: Arnold Schulman (Screenplay) James Kirkwood Jr, Nicholas Dante (Book)
Starring: Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Michael Blevins
Plot: Hopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.
Tagline – One singular sensation
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Musical
Story: Chorus Line starts as the latest Broadway musical is casting the chorus line, director Zach (Douglas) and his choreographer Larry (Mann) have 100s of hopefuls that want this big break. We see scores of auditions going on with the numbers whittled down to 16 hopefuls, 8 women and 8 men, with former star of the show Cassie (Reed) trying to get Zach to give her a chance to audition.
We watch how the hopefuls must prove their quality to Zach so they can be in this latest show, we see how they have come from different backgrounds with their own motives for going into this field.
Thoughts on Chorus Line
Characters – Zach is the director of the show, he needs perfection and knows what he is looking for, he pushes the auditions to the limits, but gives them the motivation they need to improve for their next audition. Larry plays the nice guy, he will put his arm around anyone that needs help, to deal with the short tempered Zach, he has worked with people like this for years and knows the weakness they can hold. Cassie was once Zack’s top dancer, when things have changed she wants to return to be just one of the chorus line, a direction Zack doesn’t believe she should go in.
Performances – Michael Douglas is now the biggest name in this movie, he does stand out because of his role as the director showing the calmness when looking out for the dancers, but the strictness while putting them back in their place. Terrence Mann is strong in this role too, we see just how important this is to his character. When it comes to the dancers they are all great through the film too.
Story – The story shows us the routine a group of dancers must go through to try and make an impact on Broadway, we see how they have come from different background with a common dream to break the moulds of what is the normal. The whole film takes place over the one day of auditions which show how the process must go through to be selected and we are left to feel their stories and desperation to make an impact.
Musical – The musical numbers are enjoyable through the film, with a number of the performers having their own song to make them stand out.
Settings – The film takes place on just the Broadway location, where we see the performers on the stage, this is nice because we clearly see how this could be a live performance too.
Scene of the Movie – Paul’s story.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We have slightly too many performers to whittle down for duration.
Final Thoughts – This is a good musical, that translates well to screen and to the stage, we have good performance and good songs too.
Overall: Musical for all the fans of the genre.
Rating
