Movie of the Week: Into the Woods

[jacey]

I generally like musicals, but where does a musical stop and an opera begin? Into the Woods has lots of music, but no good songs and only one memorable (9 note) musical hook, which recurred. I confess I'm not a great Sondheim fan (you guessed, huh?). Having said that, the singing was good, especially since most of the participants were actors not usually known for singing roles.

The plot is an original strand about a baker and his wife (the surprisingly effective pairing of and impressive James Corden and Emily Blunt) who can't have a child until they've lifted a curse by collecting three items for the witch next door (Meryl Streep). Into this is twisted a collection of Grimms' fairy tales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood (with a cameo by Johnny Depp as Mr Wolf). The fairy tales were all twisted, of course, deliciously so in some cases. (The prince who was raised to be charming but not sincere, for instance.

I've watched too many Dr Whos recently because I confess that when James Corden's baker eventually got his baby I had to woner whether its name was Stormageddon.

Comments

[calico-reaction.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the staged version of the musical?

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I haven't and would like to.

[calico-reaction.livejournal.com]

There's a DVD of the Original Broadway cast featuring Bernadette Peters that is just excellent. I watched it over and over in high school (well, the VHS version), because we put that musical on my senior year. These songs are ingrained in my brain. :)