As a certified theatre nerd, I've watched a lot of movie musicals, both good and bad. But when "La La Land" came out this past year and garnered so much acclaim, I became highly skeptical of the Los Angeles-centered original musical. I finally took a dive and watched it before the Oscars. Now that "La La Land" won six, almost seven, Academy Awards this past weekend, I feel as if my duty to state this: it's not that great of a musical.
Before any of you drop a barrage of angry comments onto me, let me explain.
"La La Land" is a gorgeous, heart-wrenching, beautifully scored film. But the music, at least to me, is average at best. Don't get me wrong, Emma Stone's "Audition" song has been stuck in my head for days now, but on the whole, the music and singing in the film has been completely over hyped.
If "La La Land" has introduced you to the wonderful world of movie musicals, then congratulations! Now its time for you to broaden your horizons past Ryan Gosling's mediocre voice and open yourself up to some the best musicals of all time.
1. "Singin' in the Rain"
If you haven't seen this movie yet, come out of the rock you've been living under and grab some popcorn. "Singin' In The Rain" is probably one of the most iconic movie musicals of all time, with stellar performances from Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. You may even be able to catch some of the subtle references "La La Land" used in order to pay homage to this classic film. This movie musical is the original love letter to Hollywood.
2. "The Sound of Music"
3. "Funny Girl"
Beautiful, heartbreaking, and yes, funny, Fanny Brice was one of Barbra Streisand's most iconic roles. With classics numbers such as "Don't Rain On My Parade" and "My Man", this musical earned Streisand the Oscar for Best Actress, and Emma Stone doesn't hold a candle to her belt. (Sorry, Emma, your voice is just so...wispy.)
4. "West Side Story"
Yup. Another movie musical where one of the main characters is named Maria. If I had a nickel for every time tried to sing 'Maria' from "West Side Story" to me, I would have enough money to buy the Oscar for Best Original Song and rightfully give it to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Anyways, besides being an awesome retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in New York City in the midst of a gang war, this musical has some of the best choreography of all time.
5. "The Wizard of Oz"
Another iconic movie musical. Made in 1939, "The Wizard of Oz" is noted for its use of the newly formed Technicolor. Having played Dorothy in the staged play my junior year of high school, I might be a little biased towards this one. But believe me, if there's one classic movie musical you should watch before you die, this is defintely high on the list.
6. "The Prince of Egypt"
There's only one animated movie musical on this list, and if you thought it'd be "The Little Mermaid" or "Aladdin" or some other Disney film, you'd be dead wrong. No 2-D animated musical holds a candle to "The Prince of Egypt". And don't let the biblical nature turn you off; The animation by Dreamworks and the beautiful score and soundtrack will make you forget you're getting a subtle religion lesson.
7. "Chicago"
Murder, sex, and fame. "Chicago", which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2003, combines all of these themes on the backdrop of the 1920s in the Windy City. If you wanna see a bunch of badass female inmates sing about murdering their significant others to a tune that'll surely be stuck in your head for days, this is the movie musical for you.
8. "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
The story of a German transgender rock singer, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" was truly ahead of its time. Although this movie musical has had a cult following and unique subject matter, songs such as "The Origin of Love" and "Midnight Radio" will make you feel for the complex and damaged protagonist.
9. "Moulin Rouge!"
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return". This jukebox musical directed by Baz Luhrmann is filled with cheesy quotes like that, and this film is sure to tug at any romantic's heartstrings. The saturated cinematography and tragic love story is right up the alley for any "La La Land" fan.
10. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Yay...more murder....what can I say? Some of the best movie musicals are pretty dark, and "Sweeney Todd" takes the cake--or, in this case, pie--as one of the darkest. Set in Victorian London, Johnny Depp plays an exiled barber hell bent on exacting his revenge on those who have wronged him, and Helena Bonham Carter plays Todd's trusty accomplice, baking his victims into meat pies. With direction from Tim Burton and music by Stephen Sondheim, this is a solid musical for anyone who's sick of saccharine songs and happy endings.
11. "The Producers"
Offensive, silly, and raucously funny, "The Producers" was originally a movie starring Gene Wilder, but was later adapted as a musical, winning a record 12 Tony Awards in one night. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick both starred in the original Broadway cast and movie musical. However, if you are easily offended, or just don't want songs like "Springtime for Hitler" stuck in your head, you might have to proceed with caution.
12. "The Phantom of the Opera"
As the longest running Broadway musical of all time, "The Phantom of the Opera" has been a cultural phenomena for the better part of 30 years. Whether you feel bad for the rejected and deformed Phantom or not, (by the way, I most certainly do not), Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece brought to life on the big screen has fantastic costume design, magnificent sets, and of ourse, lots of vibrato.
13. "Hairspray"
With a catchy soundtrack and important thematic messages, I regard "Hairspray" as one of the best musicals to come out of the 2000's. Again, I am pretty biased, seeing as I've been involved in the stage production twice, but "Hairspray", while set in 1960's Baltimore, actually holds a lot of cultural relevance right now. Racism, body image, and self-love are all important themes, giving a deeper meaning to an already fun film.
14. "Les Misérables"
"Do you hear the people sing?" Well, there is barely a word of spoken dialogue in this movie musical, (it's almost completely sung through), so yeah. You will definitely hear the people sing. Regardless of that, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Aaron Tveit all give stellar performances in this musical set in 19th century France. Weirdly, everyone has British accents, but that's for another article.
15. "Into the Woods"
Fairy tales are fun, until they're not. "Into the Woods" takes a bunch of fairy tales, like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella, mashes them all together, and then makes everyone sad. Doesn't that sound fun? But, it was composed by Sondheim, and stars Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, and James Corden, so why wouldn't you want to watch it?
16. "The Last Five Years"
I know, another movie musical with Anna Kendrick, but to be honest, can there ever be too much of her in your life? No. This time, she co-stars with Jeremy Jordan in this wistfully tragic musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It tells the tale of Kathy and Jamie, a couple who's relationship begins and dies within a five year period. Through song, Kathy tells their story from the end; Jamie tells it from the beginning.
So go watch. Laugh, cry, and enjoy. "La La Land" might be good, but there's a whole world of movie musicals out there just waiting for you to watch them.
