Musicals—21

Shall we head into the 90s in film musicals? As we inch our way toward the present day and the musical you may write for our times, it’s important to look at the musicals that came before so that you’re grounded in your genre.

The 90s had two very successful musicals—The Lion King [1994] by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton, and Beauty and the Beast [1991], both of which were animated films produced by Disney based on stage plays. Not exactly a path the aspiring musical writer can aim for!

There are, however, two quite innovative musicals from the 90s that are worth our taking a look at, and the first is Everyone Says I Love You [1996] by Woody Allen. The film is interesting for many reasons. First, though it’s a musical, there’s no original music in the film. Instead, Allen uses old musical standards for characters to sing at appropriate points in the film. Second, it’s brave enough to even go for wild production numbers—like Ed Norton singing and dancing as he shops for an engagement ring in Harry Winston’s. And third, because the actors haven’t been chosen for their singing ability. There are some who criticize Allen for that choice—feeling a musical, being a musical, should have songs sung by people who can sing. But Allen disagreed and was bold enough to stick with his choice. He felt that the emotion a character was feeling was what should come through in the song and that didn’t require vocal talent. And this is true of Allen’s character as well—he sings a moving song, I’ll Never Fall Again, but he’s no singer. And he’s right—we’re moved, we can feel his angst in that moment that he’s singing—it’s like a secret window into his psyche that we can open and peer at.

The story of Everyone Says I Love You is the story of a family, in particular Woody Allen’s character, Joe, who, with the help of his ex-wife Stefi and her husband Bob, tries to figure out his love life and eventually pursues a woman in Venice and Paris named Von. He gets inside info on her and transforms himself into the man he knows she would want. They’re perfect for each other. Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTkQZBN3od0

Or, wait a minute, are they perfect for each other? What happens if you know everything about the person you’re pursuing? Can that buy love?

It’s an intriguing question and Allen explores it through other romantic relationships in this family and it’s just plain fun.

Take a good look at the film—see how Allen uses songs that are old standards, no original music here, he just chose songs that fit the characters’ emotional states at the time they were singing. The songs help the story along and story is enhanced by the songs. And you have Allen’s trademark fun and humor and heart to help tell the multiple stories in the film. And the ending, it still takes my breath away every time I see that scene by the Seine… what a gift to cinema this film is… go find it, watch it, and enjoy.

Copyright © Diane Lake

15Dec19

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