Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticAt the risk of overgeneralizing, why is it that cheapie musicals are so much more charming to watch on screen than they are when some friend invites you to whatever way-off-Broadway show they’ve managed to get mixed up in?
Heck, these tiny film projects are often more endearing than the relatively big-budget ones the Hollywood studios produce. I’ll take “Colma” over “Cats” any day, and would watch “Once” ten times before sitting through “Into the Woods” again.Big and bombastic works great on stage, but tends to look garish and awkward on screen, whereas scrappy tuners somehow feel more sincere when the camera can go in for a closeup, à la “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” That strategy — of letting the actors’.
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