I'll admit this right off the bat: I'm not a particularly big fan of the FOX
television series "Glee,"
and there are substantial chunks of this motion-picture spin-off of the series
that I did not enjoy in the least. And yet I am giving it a five-out-of-five
star rating, which to some minds connotes a declaration of cinematic perfection.
Well, "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" is not what I would
call a film masterpiece along the lines of "Psycho" or Tarkovsky's "Solaris," or, you know, "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather Part II," to name just a few of the
items in my own personal cinematic pantheon. But it does, I believe, achieve
perfection on its own particular terms. The title promises a concert movie, in
3-D, based on the show "Glee," and the film delivers precisely that, in a way
that I believe is sure to overjoy fans of the show.
That's at least in part because fans of the show are part of the film's
subject. The actual 3-D concert footage, shot, we are told, at the Meadowlands
Arena in scenic New Jersey, is interspersed with the personal stories of three
ardent "Glee" fans: one a dwarf cheerleader, another a young woman living with
Asperger's syndrome, and the third a gay African-American man who was forcibly
outed in the eighth grade. Each of them tell their stories about how the show
touched them personally, making them feel that it was OK to be different, to be,
as one of the more popular songs from the series puts it, a "loser like me."
Which is nice, I guess.
The concert stuff is a slightly knottier matter. The actors from the series
perform in character, enacting the roles they play on the show onstage as they
sing; Lea Michele's goofily diva-esque
Rachel belts out Streisand's big "Funny Girl" number "Don't Rain on
My Parade" as if Babs herself were out in the audience checking it out. Heather Morris' bad girl Britney
muses backstage that she hopes the audience gets an "overwhelming feeling about
my boobs, because they look good in 3-D," and this viewer is obliged to admit
that her hope was borne out during the performer's rendition of a song by that
other Britney. Openly gay character Kurt performs in footwear so unusually
striking that it creates the impression that the actor who plays him, Chris Colfer, is, um, gay himself.
Although I see from internet search engines that this is an open question
or something. Rather more disarming, for this relative stranger to the show, was
seeing actor Kevin McHale, who plays the wheelchair-bound
Artie, intone "This is my dream" and rise from the wheelchair to, um, bust a
move to an old Men Without Hats song. Yeah, that one. For a while I was under
the impression that McHale/Artie was the real nonambulatory deal, like my
favorite living English-language singer, Robert Wyatt.
If you're familiar with Wyatt, you'll understand that my own personal musical
preferences are rather distant from -- if not outrightly at odds with
-- those of "Glee," although I do admit an admiration for the project's
magpie-like accrual of pop-culture signifiers and button-pushers. A Kurt/Rachel
duet of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again" is an apt nod to Judy
Garland and the originalist strain of glee-club singing and is kind of nifty. On
the other hand, Finn's ballad rendition of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is an
equally apt reminder of the fact that just because something can be done
doesn't mean that it should, and the version of Queen's cheekily crass "Fat
Bottomed Girls" by Mark Salling's studly Puck is both entirely beside the point
and from hunger, as it were.
But these are my personal quibbles. I mean, if I had made this movie, I would
have saved Artie's rise from the wheelchair for the end, had him cry, "Mein
Fuhrer! I can walk!" and accompanied his song with a montage of mushroom clouds.
The actual director of the film clearly knew his job better.
Glenn Kenny is chief film critic for MSN Movies. He was the chief film
critic for Premiere magazine from 1998 to 2007. He contributes to various
publications and websites, and blogs at http://somecamerunning.typepad.com. He lives in
Brooklyn.
For more movie news, follow MSN Movies on Facebook and Twitter.
I'll admit this right off the bat: I'm not a particularly big fan of the FOX
television series "Glee,"
and there are substantial chunks of this motion-picture spin-off of the series
that I did not enjoy in the least. And yet I am giving it a five-out-of-five
star rating, which to some minds connotes a declaration of cinematic perfection.
Well, "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" is not what I would
call a film masterpiece along the lines of "Psycho" or Tarkovsky's "Solaris," or, you know, "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather Part II," to name just a few of the
items in my own personal cinematic pantheon. But it does, I believe, achieve
perfection on its own particular terms. The title promises a concert movie, in
3-D, based on the show "Glee," and the film delivers precisely that, in a way
that I believe is sure to overjoy fans of the show.
That's at least in part because fans of the show are part of the film's
subject. The actual 3-D concert footage, shot, we are told, at the Meadowlands
Arena in scenic New Jersey, is interspersed with the personal stories of three
ardent "Glee" fans: one a dwarf cheerleader, another a young woman living with
Asperger's syndrome, and the third a gay African-American man who was forcibly
outed in the eighth grade. Each of them tell their stories about how the show
touched them personally, making them feel that it was OK to be different, to be,
as one of the more popular songs from the series puts it, a "loser like me."
Which is nice, I guess.
The concert stuff is a slightly knottier matter. The actors from the series
perform in character, enacting the roles they play on the show onstage as they
sing; Lea Michele's goofily diva-esque
Rachel belts out Streisand's big "Funny Girl" number "Don't Rain on
My Parade" as if Babs herself were out in the audience checking it out. Heather Morris' bad girl Britney
muses backstage that she hopes the audience gets an "overwhelming feeling about
my boobs, because they look good in 3-D," and this viewer is obliged to admit
that her hope was borne out during the performer's rendition of a song by that
other Britney. Openly gay character Kurt performs in footwear so unusually
striking that it creates the impression that the actor who plays him, Chris Colfer, is, um, gay himself.
Although I see from internet search engines that this is an open question
or something. Rather more disarming, for this relative stranger to the show, was
seeing actor Kevin McHale, who plays the wheelchair-bound
Artie, intone "This is my dream" and rise from the wheelchair to, um, bust a
move to an old Men Without Hats song. Yeah, that one. For a while I was under
the impression that McHale/Artie was the real nonambulatory deal, like my
favorite living English-language singer, Robert Wyatt.
If you're familiar with Wyatt, you'll understand that my own personal musical
preferences are rather distant from -- if not outrightly at odds with
-- those of "Glee," although I do admit an admiration for the project's
magpie-like accrual of pop-culture signifiers and button-pushers. A Kurt/Rachel
duet of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again" is an apt nod to Judy
Garland and the originalist strain of glee-club singing and is kind of nifty. On
the other hand, Finn's ballad rendition of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is an
equally apt reminder of the fact that just because something can be done
doesn't mean that it should, and the version of Queen's cheekily crass "Fat
Bottomed Girls" by Mark Salling's studly Puck is both entirely beside the point
and from hunger, as it were.
But these are my personal quibbles. I mean, if I had made this movie, I would
have saved Artie's rise from the wheelchair for the end, had him cry, "Mein
Fuhrer! I can walk!" and accompanied his song with a montage of mushroom clouds.
The actual director of the film clearly knew his job better.
Glenn Kenny is chief film critic for MSN Movies. He was the chief film
critic for Premiere magazine from 1998 to 2007. He contributes to various
publications and websites, and blogs at http://somecamerunning.typepad.com. He lives in
Brooklyn.
For more movie news, follow MSN Movies on Facebook and Twitter.
Part of Glee's charm has always been its innocent amateurishness, its just-folks aura. The live show clings to that conceit - with some pyrotechnics thrown in.
Glee the TV show has become a cult phenom with three essential ingredients: whip-smart kids, adult-sized issues, all blended to sugary pop tunes. About a third of those components made it into Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.
For the show's rabid viewership, these testimonials are probably integral to a celebratory experience like the "Glee" live show. To everyone else, it's all gonna be Gleek to you.
At its best, it's joyful, uplifting and even, occasionally, moving. And at its worst, it's a propaganda piece designed to win our undying loyalty to a TV show/cash cow that advocates for the little guy even though it's clearly turned into a diva.
There is a paradox at the heart of the film. It strains to celebrate diversity and individualism, while its processed music exemplifies strict corporate teamwork.
It's a working illustration of what differentiates movie stars from TV stars. When we buy a ticket for a George Clooney movie, it's because we want to see George Clooney (or Emma Stone or Tom Hanks or whomever). The real stars of "Glee," on the other hand, are the characters, not the actors.
