“Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets mother. Yeesh!”
-Rosie DeLeon (Janet Leigh)

First film I’ve officially watched as part of my film studies course…fuck me, the really couldn’t have picked a better one, could they?

I’m being harsh there, I didn’t hate this. I’m not really a big fan of Musicals (except West Side Story, which is the bomb), but this was fairly good all things considered. Except the song at the start and end, sung by leading lady Ann-Margret. That had me reaching for the razors. It literally crawls under your scalp and into your brain and nestles its roots there, festering like some evil fungus until you can do naught but bash your head against a…

One of my least favorite terms in all of movie reviewing is the term "dated". I do understand the concept since the way people view certain things socially or scientifically changes over time, and that can make a movie age poorly. However, I feel like the term is often mis-used as a generic "the movie is old and I didn't like it" label. That being said, Bye Bye Birdie, though good in some instances, is very very dated.
In 1957 Elvis Presley was drafted by the Army, causing millions of teenage girls to go into shock. In 1960, the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie began, and in 1963 the film version was released. In the movie and musical, an Elvis…

One of my least favorite terms in all of movie reviewing is the term "dated". I do understand the concept since the way people view certain things socially or scientifically changes over time, and that can make a movie age poorly. However, I feel like the term is often mis-used as a generic "the movie is old and I didn't like it" label. That being said, Bye Bye Birdie, though good in some instances, is very very dated.
In 1957 Elvis Presley was drafted by the Army, causing millions of teenage girls to go into shock. In 1960, the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie began, and in 1963 the film version was released. In the movie and musical, an Elvis…

Originally posted at: evantvmoviegames.tumblr.com/post/37269152202/byebyebirdiereview

What’s so fun about musicals is that they’re a different breed of entertainment. Seeing a musical on stage is entirely different than watching a movie, yet film versions of stage productions oftentimes get it right. It’s a tricky formula, especially if you want to capitalize on the buzz that’s happening when it premieres.

Do you want to stick with the cast that made the original production so good? Are some of the actors film ready? As for Bye Bye Birdie, it helped push comedic icons like Dick Van Dyke into movies and gave an outlet for soon to be stars like Anne-Margaret to try out the waters.

When it’s announced that teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie is…

“Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets mother. Yeesh!”
-Rosie DeLeon (Janet Leigh)

First film I’ve officially watched as part of my film studies course…fuck me, the really couldn’t have picked a better one, could they?

I’m being harsh there, I didn’t hate this. I’m not really a big fan of Musicals (except West Side Story, which is the bomb), but this was fairly good all things considered. Except the song at the start and end, sung by leading lady Ann-Margret. That had me reaching for the razors. It literally crawls under your scalp and into your brain and nestles its roots there, festering like some evil fungus until you can do naught but bash your head against a…

This movie varies greatly from the play it was based on (the 1995 TV version is much closer). This version is sillier, more outlandish, and much less coherent. However, I wouldn't even have a problem with its idiotic plot (not even the moment where they drug the conductor of the Russian ballet on the Ed Sullivan show in the hopes of getting him to conduct REALLY FAST so the dancers dance REALLY FAST so there's enough time for Conrad Birdie to sing) if the musical numbers were fun and energetic. But despite this musical reprising some of its Broadway cast and being made during the heyday of musicals... the musical numbers in this kind of suck. The singing is off,…