MovieChat Forums > The Music Man (2003) Discussion > It's fine, just a newer version

It's fine, just a newer version

posted 13 years ago by rsgre
4 replies | jump to latest

Hi folks, It's taken me eight years to finally see this version, when I bought a copy cheap. I'm in my 60's and grew up with the 1962 version. To this day, it remains the one film I saw in a theater where the audience went totally ecstatic at the closing credits. They unabashedly clapped, whistled, and cheered every credited actor as if it were a live performance...incredible !!
They loved it !! I came prepared for this film after having just seen a live stage production locally, done by a semi-professional theater group. It was similar to the film, but of course different, and not quite up to the same high standards, but still very, very enjoyable. (They came very close to duplicating the "Marion, the librarian" dance number, very well done). It made me realize that each version is different and has it's own unique qualities to enjoy. From the brief comments I have read here so far, sounds like too many people are "locked into" the 1962 version, to which I say: "get over it...enjoy both versions and an occasional live stage performance" ! I thought the main actors were fine in their parts, it was a slightly different "take" on the narrative, and some added "politcal correctness", but still very entertaining. One nice touch was the full version of the song "My White Knight", a beautiful ballad that was edited in the original film. I enjoyed this version very much and might watch it again tonight !!

RSGRE

[–] john1951 13 years ago

With all the negative talk from others about this 2003 version of Music Man and then seeing this well written, wonderful, and very positive review, I couldn’t just let this review stand unanswered or unsupported. I grew up in a musical household of singers and pianists. My father, a music major, always loved barbershop music (as well as Broadway, classical, spiritual and other forms) and dreamed of someday forming a barbershop quartet. When our local high school and community theater decided to jointly put on the Music Man, my dad was asked to put together the quartet/school board which was a task he gladly accepted. He tapped one of my older brothers to sing bass, my dad sang baritone, and he found two other excellent singers for lead and tenor. My mom made reversible vests for the quartet, my aunt was the show’s director, and I was one of the 76 trombones in the finale. For an amateur production the show went exceedingly well. That was 45 years ago. My mom and dad are both gone now but the whole experience is still one of my fondest memories. Over the years I’ve enjoyed watching the 1962 Robert Preston version but I never felt any real connection between that movie and my memories. However, when I watched the 2003 Matthew Broderick version I literally cried. To me the 2003 version has a passion and polish and depth that the 1962 version never had. When the Buffalo Bills sang they of course did very well, but when they sing it’s almost like the movie just stops and the singers perform for the viewer, not for those around them. Yes the quartet in the 2003 version are somewhat young, but so what? They not only harmonized perfectly but like most of the songs in that version they made it seem believable, like a natural flow of the story. When Shirley Jones sings “Till there was you” who was she singing to? She barely looked at Robert Preston. When Kristin Chenoweth sings it to Matthew Broderick she sings it to HIM. You can see and feel the passion within her for HIM. I felt that way about most of the production; it wasn’t just entertainment for us to watch, it was entertainment that draws you in and puts you right there in River City… if you stop comparing it to other versions and just enjoy it for what it is; a wonderful experience.

[–] rsgre 12 years ago

Thanks john 1951 for your complimentary comments ! You and I have hit on the difference that changes and improves your point of view: seeing and/or being in a live stage performance ! Once you see a live production you get into the whole spirit of the musical play, and you don't care which movie you watch, they are all good ! I heartly recommend that everyone who likes this story take the opportunity to see a live production if it comes to your area. Once you see it, you won't be so particular about any one film's details, you will just be humming those tunes ! RIP Meredith Wilson...thank you for giving us a wonderful show !
RSGRE

[–] ZeoRangerFive 12 years ago

It's not fine, it's awful. The performances are the worst offender. Matthew Broderick just sounds like he's reading off a cue card any time he's singing. Just look at the awful intros to both "Ya Got Trouble" and "76 Trombones", just terrible. And then some of things are just over the top like when the firecracker goes off under Mrs. Shinn and her dress shoots up over her head and she falls into the curtain ripping it down, just way too much and stupid.

Even great actors like Victor Garber are awful, his performance is so cardboard it's ridiculous! And I'm not comparing to the original, as a stand alone movie this is terrible. There's a reason this was a TV movie.

Dragonzord! Mastodon! Pterodactyl! Triceratops! Saber Toothed Tiger! Tyrannosaurus!

[–] TheInvisibleGirl1985 12 years ago

It's amazing to me how we could have such different opinions on the quality of the film. I had no exposure to the original movie when I saw this film back in 2003. In fact, I had no exposure to the stage show at all other than knowing a few of the songs. The only performance I wasn't sold on was Matthew Broderick, who was a bit bland. I loved the firecracker scene (why too much? Aren't the stakes supposed to be high enough in the scene to set Tommy up as a bit of a rebel/bad boy? It would have been a bit much if the next time you see Mrs. Shinn, she was wrapped in bandages but this, not so much.) Mayor Shinn is a dry character. His lines aren't nearly as funny if he isn't. Garber plays him without being bumbling and with conviction behind his words which makes his malapropos work. My favorite part about this film are the company numbers. I can't watch Wells Fargo Wagon without getting chills by the end. The staging of the numbers, the singing, the orchestrations and the choreography are excellent.

"Nothing excellent was ever achieved without enthusiasm." -Ralph Waldo Emerson