jenn976-1 Reviews

Esther Kahn (2000)

Don't bother

[9 September 2004]

Sleepwalking, dead, boring, an endurance test for the audience - all have been said before so why am I adding to the comments I agree with? There is this:

"...it isn't before a man treats her badly that she realizes on stage, that she has talent and that she connects with the audience and emerges as a stronger human being."

This must be the reviewer's imagination talking. One can tell that this is the point of the movie that its makers are trying to make but they failed. Utterly. The only reason I kept it going in the machine was to see if they could redeem themselves. But they did not. It's a very big disappointment. There is no connection with the audience - either in the theater's audience inside the story itself or the movie audience watching this.

Too many close-ups, just way too many. I'd call it possibly a workshop on close-ups - if you're in the business. Otherwise, why waste money on this? It's just pointless.

"the film never reveals more than it needs to."

Honestly, it reveals nothing.

And yes, why was so much money thrown at this movie? I seriously wonder if the backers needed to lose money for tax purposes.

The Merry Widow (1934)

Not the original Merry Widow

[18 February 2004]

Interesting treatment of Lehar's "Merry Widow", almost 30 years after "Die Lustige Witwe" premiered in Vienna. There were many versions of The Merry Widow but this particular story is all jumbled up from the original. It's supposed to open in Paris but instead, we're in Marshovia which gives us a very slow opening. The English translation is by the screenplay writers, Vajda and Raphaelson and the lyrics are by Rodgers and Hart. Don't expect a true-to-the-original story. This story adaptation is okay although the original is charming by itself. However, the actors are very good and funny. The biggest song of the original, "Vilja", is very out of place right at the beginning and seems to have lost its charm by its placement. The widow of the original story is much more innocent - they cast her as a bit strident here. However, it is nice to see a movie that is pre-code. The costumes and the sets are sumptuous and beautiful. Chevalier and MacDonald are very good and Edward Everett Horton is a thorough delight.