I watched The Music Man tonight on ABC. At least I didn’t have to pay anything for it.
Who in their right minds would even think of trying to remake a classic like The Music Man? Robert Preston made the role of Harold Hill his own. Everybody who takes on the role will forever be measured against Preston and come up short, and Broderick is no exception. OK, so Matthew Broderick does have a better voice than Robert Preston did, but I guarantee Robert Preston could bring more life to the role today than Broderick could at his best, and Preston has been dead for several years.
Yes, Broderick was that bad. He simply does not have the flair needed to carry off this role, and since Hill is the central character, the show founders with him.
Sadly, he isn’t the only sour note in this production. Victor Garber, while wonderfully menacing in Alias, is totally miscast as the befuddled Mayor Shinn, and the script hides many of his best lines. david Aaron Baker tries, but can't live up to Buddy hackett as Marcellus Washburn. In fact, most of the cast suffers in comparison with the original film, with the notable exception of the town councilmen, played in the original film by the Buffalo Bills, and Kristen Chenowith, who plays Marion Paroo. They are the only reasons the movie isn't a complete waste.
The other problem is the format. The Music Man is an old fashioned love story, a romantic musical and needs a certain amount of work on the part of the viewer. After all, in real life, people don't burst into song and well choreographed dance routines at the drop of the hat. We have to work to get into the story, and allow the necessary suspension of disbelief. Any slim chance this production had of succeeding is destroyed by the constant commercial interruptions.
In short, it was a complete waste of my time, and somebody else's money.
Posted by Rich at February 16, 2003 9:20 PMOn the other hand, I can see Ferris Bueller is alive and well and apparently living in the early 20th century. Has Matthew Broderick not aged a single year in the 17 years since "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"?
Also, is there a better song from a musical than "River City"? I can't think of one....
Posted by: Barry on February 17, 2003 1:28 AMHow does he do that? He's just as obnoxiously juvenile now as he was then. Maybe he's Dick Clark's illegitimate son.
Posted by: rich on February 17, 2003 11:47 AMAbsolutely right. The original remains one of my favorite movies because all the actors and actresses cast were just perfect for their roles. Can anyone really say that Victor Garber as Mayor Shinn was anything but a hack disaster compared to Paul Ford in the original?
Matthew Broderick as a song and dance man? As a con artist? Ay, caramba! It didn't work!
I gave up halfway through it. I'll just take out my VHS tape of Preston & Co. and watch it.
Posted by: Donald Sensing on February 18, 2003 9:47 AMI did the same thing last night, first to get the taste of that abomination out of my mouth, and second, to avoid the Jackson fest on ABC and NBC.
Posted by: rich on February 18, 2003 10:14 AMDavid Aaron Baker tries, but can't live up to Buddy hackett as
He tried and he did. The 2003 music man was the only movie to accurately portray Marcellus Washburn as the womanizer he was. He had one thing on his mind all the time. Women. Shipoopie was supposed to reflect that. He made it up spur of the moment. And the song starred his favorite topic. Women.