Hollywood and the Musical
By Mary Beth Gentle
Hollywood and the musical have had an on again, off again, relationship for years now. And I for one am thrilled that this summer the Hollywood musical is back on. This is the summer of Mama Mia!. And not only has it had more than steady box office returns it is downright fun.
The Hollywood musical has been around from just about the beginning. Basically, as soon as movies managed to get sound, they got music. It all began back in 1929 with Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. By the 1930’s the Hollywood musical had become a box office force to be reckoned with. From Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers to Judy Garland, there seemed to be no stopping them. By the 1950’s and 1960’s the musical had become a cinematic event with movies like; Guys and Dolls, The King and I and The Sound of Music.
Then came the Seventies and Disco and the face of the Hollywood musical changed. The only musicals that were allowed came to us from the theatre first and foremost. Once they had been tried and tested on the stage, the Studios were willing to take a risk, not many of which paid off financially. When we hit the late Eighties and Nineties, thanks to Disney, the musical was saved. Of course, they were only accepted if they were animated.
And now, today, there may be hope for the musical again. Last year we had Enchanted and Across the Universe. And this year we have Mama Mia!. Mama Mia! is a feature film adaptation of the hit stage production based on ABBA’s music. The all star cast includes; Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the story of a mother, a daughter and her three possible fathers.
The movie opens with twenty-year-old Sophie (Seyfried) preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky (Cooper) at her mother's (Streep) hotel on a tiny Greek island. Her deepest wish is to be given away by her father at her wedding. By reading her mother's diary she discovers that she has three possible fathers (Brosnan, Firth and Skarsgard). Sophie secretly invites all three men to the wedding. But, not all goes according to plan and old loves are re-kindled as Sophie risks everything to discover the true identity of her father.
Combine the cast and the performances with the already widely popular stage play and Universal has a built-in formula for a hit. Which is exactly what this movie is. You may ask why a Hollywood Cube dweller like myself is going on and on about a musical amid a summer of superhero blockbusters and all I can say is that it has been the best surprise of the summer.
In two weeks time, Mama Mia! has already grossed over 75 million dollars. And in the summer box office world of movies that contain no explosions, no flying superheroes or villainous bad guys that is a very good start to what will be classified as a bone fide hit by the end of the summer. It won’t hit The Dark Knights numbers, it won’t even come close, but its production budget was far less, so they don’t have to make as much to find themselves out of the red and into the black.
So, take it from a Hollywood Cube Dweller who has seen all the big summer blockbusters, this is my new pick of the summer. And as I crank up the soundtrack a little louder in my cube, I can only hope the musical is on it’s way back for good.
