Glenn Close as an Arkansas ingénue?
No kidding, she looked like a guy in drag. She had no impish humor, no Southern accent, no endearing “hick” mannerisms, and above all, no voice. She sleep-walked through her lines like a tired, worn-out matron instead of the fresh bouncy kid Nellie was supposed to be. Thank God they deleted “Cock-eyed Optimist” – or maybe I just missed it – I can’t imagine a tired Glenn Close trying to make us believe that she is “immature and incurably green.” When Rade Serbedzija sings the line, “Someone young and smiling coming up my hill,” it was really ironic, seeing as how he is only a year older than Close. And why does Hollywood never think of hiring Southerners to play Southerners? If they were going to cast a 50-ish woman to play Nellie, why didn’t they get Reba McEntire, who at least has the bounce, verve and above all, voice, to do a knock-out Nellie?
This really was the most tired, lackluster production I have ever seen. The humor was listless and the jokes fell flat, and I never felt sympathy for any of the characters. At least Natalie Mendoza made a beautiful Liat, though no one can touch France Nuyen in the 1958 version. Not one of the singers sang well – Glenn Close consistently sang flat and Rade Serbedzija periodically warbled incongruously – they all seemed a little bored by the lyrics. Even Harry Connick, Jr., sang his lines without any real feeling – he completely threw away that very powerful song about racial hatred, “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.” And Lori Tan Chinn’s tepid version of “Bali Ha’i” was a pallid (and occasionally flat) ghost of the powerhouse version in the 1958 movie sung by Juanita Hall (who was classically trained at Julliard, by the way) – when Hall sang it, it rocked you out of your seat and left you a little breathless when the music ended. And wasn’t there supposed to be dancing? Unless you call those nurses stumbling around on the beach in “I’m Going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” dancing – I’ve seen Clydesdales with more grace.
What a disappointing movie.
"The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power."
- Julius Caesar, act 2 sc 1