This 1985 film version of the infamous
Broadway Musical is, unless you're a die-hard fan of dance and
musicals, unbelievably painful to watch. Several times I rolled over
on my couch groaning in agony. What is the point of this movie?
The movie is about an audition to make the Broadway musical, "A
Chorus Line". The entire movie takes place inside a theatre, and
the choreographer/director of the show, played by Michael Douglas,
barely even leaves his seat during the audition, other than to run up
to the stage really fast to stand close to someone's face and try and
get them to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets.
When the dancers have been cut down to a mere sixteen, the movie
proceeds to spend an hour having each dancer sing and dance an
intimate story about themselves. And to make the movie worse, there is
a lame subplot concerning Douglas and a broken relationship with one
of the dancers. But as stated, unless you really like Broadway
musicals, stay clear of this movie.
The movie does look good on DVD. The actors are all under the bright
lights of the stage, which presents a clear picture. The music is
obviously an important part, so it comes across loud and pulsating.
Little is offered in terms of special features, only a featurette
titled "Marvin Hamlisch: From Broadway to Hollywood". Like
the movie, the featurette is not very interesting. One might think
that even someone who liked the movie would even find the monotone
Hamlisch boring to listen to for a half hour.
