Gideon58's Reviews

Baby Boy is a 2001 film that purports to be a gritty urban drama, but fails to convince, thanks to inferior writing, an unappealing lead character and a less-than-stellar performance from the actor in the lead.

The film stars male model turned actor Tyrese Gibson as Jody, an unemployed player who has two babies with two different women, yet still lives with his mother (AJ Johnson). The film focuses primarily on Jody's feeble attempts to earn a living while working to keep current girlfriend Yvette (Taraji P. Hensen) under his thumb. Further complications arise when Mom begins dating a new guy (Ving Rhames) who seems to be taking over Jody's position as man of the house and Yvette's ex, Rodney (Snoop Dogg), gets out of jail and tries to resume his life with Yvette.

Director-writer John Singleton, who put himself on the map a decade earlier with Boyz in the Hood really dropped the ball this time. This film suffers from a sexist and unappealing leading man who treats women like dirt and still wants to run his mother's house, even though he does absolutely nothing to contribute to the upkeep of the household. The guy has two children out of wedlock and is still living at his mother's house? Seriously? It's ridiculous that Jody is so focused on his mother's new boyfriend that he doesn't even notice how much danger Yvette is in when Rodney moves back into her apartment after a fight with Jody. The main character is kind of an idiot, which really makes it hard to invest in any of what's going on.

The camera loves Gibson but he is no actor and his acting career did a slow fade after this one and deservedly so. Rhames and Hensen give strong performances, but their work is not enough to sustain interest in the film. If you have a hard-on for Tyrese Gibson, it's worth a look, otherwise...4.5/10

Will Smith is an actor who has pretty much made a career out of playing himself, but has proven that with the right material, he can deliver the goods and he does in The Pursuit of Happyness, a 2006 fact-based drama about a salesman named Chris Gardner whose sales are so bad that he's pretty much lost everything, except for his young son, whose care becomes his number one priority as Chris confronts unemployment and homelessness, but finds a long road back thanks to an internship program he enters on how to be a stockbroker.

Smith had the role of his career here and made the most of it and the idea of casting his real-life son Jaden as his son was a master stroke because the onscreen chemistry between this real-life father and son was something magical that I haven't seen in a long time. I think playing this role opposite his real life son brought a richness to Smith's performance that might not have been there with some other child actor. Watch Smith when he and his boy get locked out of their hotel room or when he's telling his son a story to keep him distracted. The look on Smith's face when he has to block a public bathroom door where he and his son are forced to sleep for a night is heartbreaking.

Yes, the screenplay is a little pat and asks us to accept a lot. I found it a little hard to believe that Chris' wife (Thandie Newton) would let go of her son as easily as she does here and I learned later after I had seen the film that the real Gardner did receive a minor stipend during his internship and didn't do the whole thing penniless.

But I digress. The performances by Will Smith and his son make this emotionally manipulative drama a winner and I'm pretty sure the finale will leave a definite lump in the throat. 8/10

An electrifying, if slightly over-the-top performance by Al Pacino made the 1983 epic Scarfacea permanent part of my video collection and a film with enormous re-watch appeal.

Director Brian De Palma spared no expense mounting this remake of the 1931 film with Paul Muni playing the legendary gangster. Of course, for the 1980's, obvious updating had to be done since Muni's crimes revolved around bootleg liquor. This time, the booty is cocaine.

Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who rises from a dishwasher to New York's # 1 drug lord, who, according to this film, made so much money selling cocaine that the banks he was dealing with were no longer able to launder it and he didn't have enough time to spend it.

Oliver Stone's screenplay takes its time unfolding Tony's story before us. We get to see how his handling of a major drug deal, during which his cousin was brutally murdered, led him to being the right hand man of Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), a cocky drug lord who gets so big for his britches that Tony not only ends up taking him out, but also steals his mistress (Michelle Pfeiffer) from him and marries her. Despite his marriage to Pfeiffer, we also learn that Tony has what appears to be a rather unnatural connection to his sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio), manifested in an overprotective mode where he won't allow another man near her.

De Palma tells this story on a huge canvas and spared no expense in giving this story authenticity with lush location filming in Mexico and Manhattan, among other locations. His direction is intense and does not shy away from some brutal violence and adult language like we hadn't seen on the screen in quite awhile. I have to remind myself sometimes that the film was NOT directed by Martin Scorcese.

Pacino is mesmerizing throughout, though some found the performance over the top. I especially loved the "good night to the bad guy" scene in the restaurant and the scene where he's in the car following the limo with the bomb attached to it. Steven Bauer had the best role of his career as Manny, Tony's second in command who looked like he had it all until he is drawn to forbidden fruit. F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, and Haris Yulin also register in supporting roles, but it's definitely Pacino's show and with the aid of De Palma and Stone, he runs with it. 7/10

Shirts/Skins was a clever and offbeat 1973 ABC Movie of the Week about six businessmen who meet regularly for a basketball game who decide one week that they are going to have a contest. Each team is given a basketball to hide somewhere in the city and the first team to find the opposing team's basketball is the winner, but this is one contest that gets WAY out of hand.

Bill Bixby, Doug McClure, Rene Auberjunois, Robert Walden, Leonard Frey, Loretta Swit, and Ron Glass give winning performances that serve the story well, a story that veers off into several different directions that you really don't see coming.

This one might be hard to find, but if you can dig it up somewhere, check it out. 8/10

The 1975 film Mahogany was Berry Gordy's attempt to have lightening strike twice by reuniting the stars of Lady Sings the Blues; however, it was an epic fail for me.

The film stars Diana Ross as Tracy Chambers, a design student from Chicago who goes from department store employee to international fashion model to the manager of her own fashion design firm, thanks to an eccentric photographer (Anthony Perkins) and a European millionaire (Jean Pierre Aumont).

Billy Dee Williams plays Brian, a political activist in Chicago who has absolutely nothing in common with Tracy but finds himself drawn to her anyway and we're supposed to be upset because we don't understand why these two can't make it work.

This film produces unintentional giggles throughout because Berry Gordy is no director and Ross does not have the acting chops to make a story like this work without a real director to guide her. Williams comes off a little better but he is fighting the screenplay all the way. Perkins actually gives the best performance in the film, which isn't saying much. The film's haunting love theme did produce a # 1 hit record for Ross though.

For hard-core Diana Ross fans only. 4/10

The 2004 film The Door in the Floor is a loopy and ultimately moving drama that takes the viewer on a muddled and complex cinematic journey but for the open-minded and patient, it is well worth it.

The story is deceptively simple: Eddie (Jon Foster) is a prep school student and aspiring writer who accepts a summer job as an apprentice to Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges), a children's book writer and artist and almost immediately drifts into an affair with Ted's emotionally fragile wife, Marian (Kim Basinger) and the effects (or lack thereof) the affair has on the already crumbling Cole marriage as well as their young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning). It becomes clear that the primary factor in the destruction of the Coles as a married couple was a horrific car accident in which their two older sons both died, an event that clearly had a lasting effect on Marian, from which she has never really recovered, not to mention her husband's alcoholism and his penchant for painting female nudes.

Director and screenwriter Tod Williams has mounted a story that is kind of all over the place but its unpredictability is part of what sustains interest. I found it odd that when Eddie's affair with Marian is revealed when Ruth actually walks in on them, that the affair didn't end and Ted simply decided to use it as a weapon in his plan to gain sole custody of Ruth. There also seem to be some mental health issues with Marian that aren't really addressed but Ted is willing to use them to get what he wants. It blew me away that even with Ruth and Ted knowing about it, Eddie and Marian continued to sleep together...not exactly a Noel Coward drawing room comedy here.

The endlessly complex screenplay is executed by a first rate cast, especially Bridges, who gives a rich and delightfully unhinged performance as the alcoholic writer of children's fiction who wears nightshirts and panama hats, and tells his daughter bedtime stories in the nude. Bridges pulls out all the stops here, which is probably his only performance that rivals his work in Fearless. I don't think Basinger has ever been better, lovely and fragile as the tattered Marian. Her work here is far superior to her Oscar-winning turn in LA Confidential and Foster absolutely holds his own opposite these two as the pawn in a dangerous marital competition.

Williams' direction, some lovely cinematography, and a smooth musical score are icing on the cake in this moving drama that will challenge the viewer and demand at least one re-visit. 8/10

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a campy and outrageous 1975 musical that originally died at the box office but somewhere along the line found new life as a midnight movie house phenomenon.

This is the story of a nerdy engaged couple named Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon), whose car breaks down one rainy night in front of a creepy castle that turns out to be the home of a kinky scientist named Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry).

To say anymore would ruin this film for the half dozen people who have never seen it, but suffice it to say that this is one of the most unique and memorable movie experiences you will ever have.

The musical score was written by Richard O'Brien, who appears in the film as Frank-N-Furter's manservant, Riff Raff. Songs include "Science Fiction Double Feature", "Dammit Janet", "Sweet Transvestite", "There's a Light". "The Time Warp", "Toucha Toucha Me", and "A Wild and Untamed Thing."

Curry gives a star-making performance as the kinky scientist and Bostwick and Sarandon are very funny as Brad and Janet. Kudos as well to Patricia Quinn as Majenta the Maid and Little Nell as a groupie named Columbia.

As mentioned, this film originally died at the box office, but found new life when vintage movie houses started showing the movie at midnight and it has now become a social phenomenon. Every Friday and Saturday night, people all over the country, dress up like the characters, dance in front of the movie screen, yell lines at the screen, and bring props. During the wedding scene, everyone in the theater throws rice and during a rainstorm scene, everyone pulls out umbrellas and water pistols. This is the movie that went from obscurity to a Friday night at midnight social event that now has the film considered a classic. If you can find a theater that is showing it at midnight, it's the only way to experience this. 7/10

Nice write ups. I'm enjoying reading them

Despite a charismatic cast and some funny situations, the 2008 comedy Four Christmases is definitely a case of parts being better than the whole.

The film stars Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as Brad and Kate, an unmarried couple in a committed relationship, who tell elaborate lies to their families every Christmas to avoid spending the holiday with them; however, this year, en route to Fiji, they are busted on national television and because both of them are children of divorce, they are forced to spend Christmas at four separate households.

Matt Allen and Caleb Wilson's screenplay does cover some familiar territory that we can all relate to, like Brad being beaten on by his brothers the second he walks into his dad's house or Kate's family revealing to Brad, through a family photo album, that Kate is a former fattie, but there is a lot of over the top slapstick that just doesn't ring true, especially Kate's battle with a group of 10 year olds in a bouncy house.

On the positive side, the casting of Brad and Kate's parents is pretty much perfection. Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek are very funny as Brad's parents. Mary Steenburgen is classy, as always, as Kate's God-fearing mom and Jon Voight is lovely as her dad, who reveals that he's known about Kate's Christmas lies for years. Also loved Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw as Brad's neanderthal brothers and Kristen Chenoweth as Kate's older sister.

For me, the best thing about this film and its definite anchor is the relationship/chemistry created by Vaughn and Witherspoon...I totally bought these two as a couple and never doubted for a second that, no matter what they go through here, these two people really love each other and this made some of the problems with the film a little easier to deal with. Despite some silly slapstick that comes off forced, the cast really makes this one worth a look. BTW, the actor playing the ticket agent near the beginning of the film is a grown up Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story. 6/10

Julia Roberts was finally given an Oscar-bait role and actually won an Oscar for Best Actress for 2000's Erin Brockovich, a fact-based drama that struck a chord with audiences because it presented a classic Everyman-VS-Big Bad Corporate America battle led by an unlikely heroine.

Roberts plays Erin, a divorced mother of three, who bullies her way into a job at a second rate law firm run by one Ed Masry(Albert Finney) and then stumbles onto a case that Masry initially let slip through the cracks regarding a California power supply company who has caused the poisoning of a small town's water supply, resulting in serious illness for several residents as well as farm animals, resulting in what turns out to be a huge class action suit. Once Masry realizes the case has some merit, he tries to wrestle it away from Erin; unfortunately, the citizens of the town in question don't like Ed or law firms and only want to deal with Erin, who has come to genuinely care about the people and what they're going through.

Roberts lights up the screen here and her Oscar win wasn't a shock, but was she better than Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream? Finney is solid, as always, as Masry and Aaron Eckhart registers as Erin's on again off again romantic interest. There are also some effective supporting performances from Peter Coyote, Veanne Cox and especially Marg Helgenberger as a young mother who may have gotten cancer from the poisoned water.

Evocative direction by Steven Soderbergh and an effective screenplay by Suhsannah Grant also help to make this film worth watching. BTW, the real Erin Brockovich makes a cameo near the beginning of the film playing a waitress. 7.5/10

Ziegfeld Follies was a lavish 1945 MGM spectacle designed for the studio to show off their biggest and brightest stars and in 1945, MGM had, as they publicly proclaimed "more stars than the heavens."

This musical revue is fashioned as a fantasy that opens with the late Florenz Ziegfeld, smoothly played by William Powell, imagining what it would be like to produce an all-star revue. This brief set-up leads to a dream spectacular, hosted by Fred Astaire introducing a production number called "Here's to the Ladies" which features Lucille Ball as a lion tamer and MGM chorus girls dressed as lions. Astaire also appears in a ballet with Lucille Bremer called "Limehouse Blues" and in "The Babbit and the Bromide", a song and dance number which was the first and only time Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly actually danced together onscreen (I don't count their introductory number in That's Entertainment 2). The only opportunity to watch Astaire and Kelly dance together is worth the price of admission alone.

The film also features appearances by Red Skelton, Kathryn Grayson, Fanny Brice, Lena Horne (who offers a torrid rendition of "Love"), Victor Moore, Edward Arnold, and James Melton. Esther Williams also appears in a lavish water ballet and Judy Garland is striking in a production number called "The Great Lady Has An Interview."

MGM made a lot of films like this but this was one of the first and one of the best. 7.5/10

Gosford Park is an expensively-mounted, if slightly talky, murder mystery surrounded by a look at the British social class system of the 1930's. I have to remind myself that this film was directed by Robert Altman because it is unlike anything he has ever done.

For anyone who was a fan of the 60's PBS series UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS, the initial set-up of this movie should be quite familiar. Set at an English country estate during a shooting weekend, we are simultaneously introduced to the guests for the weekend, which includes some titled aristocrats and some Hollywood personalities and the service staff for the mansion and what happens when the lines between upstairs and downstairs begin to blur. We are introduced to the lord of the manor, William McCordle, a man who has made as many enemies as he has friends over the years, and some of those enemies actually have a part in his care and maintenance. The story shifts effortlessly from upstairs to downstairs as we become privy to secrets, lies, and agendas, many of them connected to McCordle. Needless to say, not too many of the guests or staff are surprised when the man is discovered poisoned AND stabbed.

Robert Altman has mounted a story unlike anything he has ever done before...there is a structured story here and the normal improvisatory style prevalent in a lot of Altman's work is not present, there is his uncanny ability to weave multiple storylines and characters effectively as well as creating a dark and voyeuristic atmosphere to the proceedings that makes the viewer feel like an unwelcome guest at a very private party. Jullian Fellowes' Oscar-winning screenplay is a bit on the talky side, but with these starched and buttoned-up British characters, that is to be expected.

Altman has assembled a first rate cast here that includes standout work from Michael Gambon (as McCordle), Kristen Scott Thomas, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, Emily Watson, Clive Owen, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, and towering above them all in Oscar-nominated performances, Helen Mirren and the divine Maggie Smith. Only Ryan Philippe misses the boat as an American actor posing as a Scottish valet whose sexual shenanigans are a major part of the story.

The film is beautifully shot with impressive art direction, set direction, costumes, and music. For those who normally are turned off by Altman's directorial style, you might want to give this one a look. 8/10

Some impressive production values and some believable action sequences might make the 1996 film Independence Day worth checking out, despite some odd casting choices and a screenplay that can't stand a lot of scrutiny.

The story is actually pretty straightforward: an alien invasion causes massive force fields to blanket every major city on earth, causing worldwide panic and evacuation and piquing the curiosity of one scientist (Jeff Goldblum) and utilizing an ambitious military pilot (Will Smith) and how their unlikely teaming leads to the downfall of the nasty aliens.

Director and co-writer Roland Emmerich has asked us to accept a lot here, the primary thing that gnaws at me every time I watch this movie is that we never actually SEE the enemy here. There is one scene in the desert where Smith confronts one of the aliens but there is another two and a half hours of alleged alien attacks where we don't see what is doing the attacking.

There are some odd casting choices as well...Will Smith clearly is playing a role that was intended for someone else, evidenced in his character's name. Bill Pullman as the President of the United States? Bill Pullman? Seriously? Randy Quaid as a crop duster who believes he was sexually abused by aliens? Judd Hirsch as Goldblum's father? Loved Goldblum though and there's some other effective turns from Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Viveca A. Fox, Margaret Colin, and Brent Spiner.

The visual effects are OK and it's too long, but it's a decent popcorn movie as long as you don't think about it too much. 6/0

Couples Retreat is an alleged romantic comedy that proves it takes more to make a good movie than pretty pictures.

This tiresome 2009 comedy stars Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell as Jason and Cynthia Smith, a couple on the verge of divorce, who want to go to a couples retreat on a tropical island as a last ditch effort to save their marriage, but they can't afford the cost of the trip by themselves and talk three other couples into joining them, conning them into thinking they are just getting fun and sun, and reluctant about the couples therapy that they are going to have to go through as part of this vacation package.

Vince Vaughn and Malin Ackerman play Dave and Ronnie, a couple who do love each other but their work is forcing them to drift apart. Joey and Cynthia (Jon Favreau and Kristen Davis) were brought together by an unplanned pregnancy before they really got to know each other. Faizon Love is featured as Shane, Jason's freshly divorced friend who brings along his new 20-year old girlfriend (Kali Hawk), who Shane is having trouble keeping satisfied.

We are forced to witness some couples therapy silliness led by a creepy marriage guru (Jean Reno) featuring some overly talking therapy sessions (each couple has a different therapist for some reason) and infighting among the couples that results in some ridiculous slapstick situations, including applied adultery that just comes off as childish and a whole lot of "been there done that" sensibility that pervades the proceedings.

The movie was filmed on location in Bora Bora and is beautiful to look at, unfortunately, lush location photography does little to disguise the emptiness of what we're being asked to witness. Jason Bateman's performance is solid and almost makes the film worth sitting through, but not quite. 4/10

The king of popcorn movies, Harrison Ford, had one of his biggest hits with the 1997 actioner Air Force One. Ford plays President of the United States James Marshall, who right after giving a speech about how the US will no longer negotiate with terrorists, finds Air Force One hijacked by a group of terrorists who want their leader released from prison, whose imprisonment Marshall had a major part in. The terrorists threaten to kill one passenger on the plane (and the passengers include the first lady and his daughter) every hour until their leader is released.

The movie is slightly predictable but still immensely watchable thanks to Harrison's enormous onscreen charisma, that is so powerful that we know even though the president is immediately pushed into the escape pod to avoid his being in danger, we just KNOW that there's no way THIS president is going to leave his wife and daughter on that plane. Ford utilizes his uncanny ability here to infuse this character with equal doses of heroism and human vulnerability. Ford's Marshall projects enormous guilt when he's hiding below the plane strategizing and actually has to listen to one of his staff members get murdered.

Ford is solid here and gets equally solid support from Gary Oldman, bone-chilling as the lead terrorist, Glenn Close as the Vice President and Dean Stockwell as the Secretary of Defense. Wendy Crewson is effective as the first lady and William H. Macy and Xander Berkley also register in supporting roles.

You know how it's going to end, but the ride is a pleasure so just sit on the edge of your chair and have a ball. 7/10

Martin Lawrence had one of his biggest hits with the 2000 comedy Big Momma's House, a fairly entertaining comedy that gets a lot of mileage out its star's personal charisma.

Lawrence plays Malcolm Turner, an FBI agent whose obsession to nab a dangerous criminal (Terrence Howard) provides one lead, his former girlfriend, Sherry (Nia Long), the mother of a young boy. When Malcolm learns that Sherry and her son have left home in the middle of the night, he tails them to her grandmother's house. When grandma is suddenly called out of town, Malcolm takes the opportunity to impersonate Grandma in order to get closer to Sherry. Needless to say, Malcolm begins to develop feelings for Sherry which, of course, compromises Malcolm's case.

As with Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, the fun in the story is watching Malcolm play Big Momma and trying to conceal his attraction to someone who is supposed to be his granddaughter. Not to mention the too simple way people accept that Malcolm is Big Momma, even though plenty of evidence is presented to the contrary and the way everything comes to a head when the real Big Momma returns to town is a lot of fun.

Lawrence works extremely hard here and is given solid support from Nia Long as Sherry and Paul Giamatti as John, Malcolm's partner. The screenplay is serviceable to the story even if it doesn't stand much scrutiny, but Lawrence's performance is entertaining enough to get you through the rough spots. Followed by a sequel. 7/10

The Exorcist was the 1973 instant classic that broke box office records, broke all the rules about the horror/terror genre, angered religious leaders all over the world, made theatergoers physically sick, generated some innovative techniques in the art of visual effects, and IMO, was robbed of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1973.

The film is based on a novel by William Peter Blatty from which Blatty fashioned the screenplay and was directed by William Friedkin, fresh off his Oscar-winning work on The French Connection.

This is the story of an actress named Chris MacNeill (Ellen Burstyn) who has recently moved to Georgetown with her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) in order to make a movie. Seemingly out of nowhere, Regan begins exhibiting bizarre behavior which Chris finds out that doctors and a barrage of tests cannot properly explain. Chris is dumbfounded when it is finally suggested to her that Regan is the victim of demonic possession and the only way to help her is an exorcism, a religious ceremony that hasn't been performed in decades. Enter Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller), the priest who is going through a crisis of conscience due to the death of his mother, which the demon inside Regan seems to know about and uses it against Karras to fight being driven from Regan's body.

This film terrified film audiences all over the world, even though most of the scares in this film are more repellent than actually scary. Friedkin and Blatty do know how to tell a compelling cinematic story that unfolds slowly without playing all its cards right away. It starts with noises in the attic and then Regan's urinating on the floor in front of Chris' party guests as clues that things are not as they should be, but doesn't really foreshadow what's going on either.

Ellen Burstyn was robbed of the Oscar for Best Actress for her bewildered and angry Chris MacNeill and playwright Jason Miller made an impressive acting debut as Karras, a performance that earned him a supporting Actor nomination. Linda Blair became a movie star and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her Regan, a performance that a lot of people thought was cosmetically constructed through makeup and special effects and that might be why she didn't win. Max Von Sydow is properly creepy as Father Merrin, the priest who helps Karras with the exorcism and Lee J. Cobb is fun as Lieutenant Kinderman, the detective who becomes involved with the story when the director of Chris' film (Jack MacGowran, who actually died during production) is actually murdered by the demon inside of Regan. The voice of the demon is provided by Oscar winner Mercedes Macambridge.

This is a once-in-a lifetime cinematic experience that has to be seen to believed. It spawned many clones and imitations but this is the granddaddy of them all. Followed by two sequels. 9/10

ABC/Disney mounted an elaborate and entertaining remake of the 1977 Broadway musical Annie for television in 1999 which, for my money, was vastly superior to the theatrical version released back in 1982. This version was directed by Rob Marshall, whose next directorial assignment was a little thing called Chicago. Marshall knows what a musical should look like and having him at the helm as director and choreographer made a big difference in making the piece work, as opposed to the 1982 version which was directed by John Huston, a competent director but clueless where musicals are concerned.

For those who don't know, this is the story of a little girl named Annie living in an orphanage during the depression, run by a cruel and sadistic witch named Miss Hannigan, who is chosen to spend a week in the mansion of a billionaire named Oliver Warbucks, a publicity stunt arranged by Warbucks' secretary Grace Farrell. We then watch as a relationship develops between the lonely philanthropist and the little girl and how Miss Hannigan sees Annie's good fortune as a ticket to Easy Street (which is, BTW, the name of one of the show's best songs).

Kathy Bates is deliciously evil as Miss Hannigan. I found Bates' interpretation of the character much richer than Carol Burnett's take on the role in 1982. Burnett played Miss Hannigan as a drunk, but Bates brought the greed and viciousness back to the role that Dorothy Loudon introduced to the character back on Broadway in '77. Bates also surprised as a competent vocalist. Her version of my favorite song in the score, "Little Girls" is just superb.

I have to admit that I found Victor Garber a little bland as Daddy Warbucks. I actually preferred Albert Finney in the '82 version , though Garber's solo, "Something was Missing" was lovely. Alicia Morton is competent as the title character and Audra McDonald brings a substance to the role of Grace that has been missing in previous versions of the show. Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth are brilliant as Rooster and Lily, Miss Hannigan's brother and his girlfriend, who are Hannigan's cohorts in extorting money from Warbucks through Annie. Cumming, Chenoweth, and Bates bring down the house with "Easy Street".

Other songs in the Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin score include "Maybe", "It's a Hard Knocks Life","I think I'm gonna like it here", "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile", and, of course, "Tomorrow". During the production number, "NYC", there is actually a cameo appearance by Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie in the original 1977 Broadway production.

For me, this is a much richer version of this musical, that takes the show back to the basics, remaining faithful to the original piece while benefiting from strong direction and choreography from Rob Marshall and some on-target casting. 8/10

Love The Exorcist, good review

Thank you, Daniel.