Reviews

"All this might seem obscure, that would depend on who you are." Stew's line that is easy to miss is a good tagline for Passing Strange. I had been waiting over a year to see Spike Lee's filmed version of the Broadway musical. I was lucky enough to see it during its too brief run at the Belasco Theater and it really changed my life. Its corny to say it, but Passing Strange of art really did affect me like no other work of art ever has. It really spoke to where I was at in my life at the time when I saw it. So Passing Strange was filmed by Spike Lee to preserve the show forever and from the moment a director was announced, I became unbearably eager to see the finished product. It got shown on the film festival circuit to nearly universal rave reviews which intensified my desire to see the film. I finally got to catch the film on Pay-Per-View at my girlfriend's parents' house. The verdict? It was truly amazing and just as touching, but very different. Seeing a show live and seeing something filmed are very different experiences because in seeing live theater, your eyes can wander to whatever actor you so desire. In a film, the camera tells you what to look at. So in that regard, the show was different. Also, since a camera can get very close to the actor's face, the emotional impact of the actors was much stronger. One of the aspects that I really picked up on during this viewing was how connected every aspect of this show is. Everything you see and hear happens for a reason and each interaction furthers the main character's story bit by bit. I was also taken by the poetry that is Stew's script. So many portions of the script just flow because of the lyrical quality of his writing. My girlfriend watched the film with me because I have been raving about PS for as long as I've known her. She owed it to me because she made me sit through Legally Blonde the Musical. She did not get into the show or follow it very easily both because of the way the story was presented (the plot jumps in and out a bit) and because she didn't get into some of the more performance art elements of the movie. So for this reason, I will say that Passing Strange is not for everyone. Passing Strange is not your typical musical. It is experimental. It will make you think. It is full of pop culture references. It expresses truths about life. It is a heavy piece of musical drama, but it is also highly entertaining if you can get into it. Needless to say, I highly recommend this movie and, honestly, I'm so attached to the show at this point that if you've seen it, no matter your opinion of the film actually is, I will respect you.

I just hope that it does well in Pay-Per-View and on DVD eventually because, like the Broadway show, they don't seem to be advertising this film very well...

I checked out Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the assumption that the movie would star The Beatles (as the movie's title is their best album.) Unfortunately, there are no Beatles to be seen. Rather, the main characters are all the BeeGees. This movie is a musical set to Beatles songs. The story is so convoluted that it seemed like the creators simply threw together random pieces of songs and tried to tie it all together. They used the lyrics in the most literal ways possible. (For example, Strawberry Fields is the name of the leading lady and when they sang "For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite", they were really putting on a benefit show.) The setup of the movie is incredibly far-fetched. Back in the early 1900's, a band existed known as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. They played their music so good that they brought all peoples together. They brought world peace. When they died, the band's mantle was put upon Sgt. Pepper's grandson. (This is, for the most part, where any mention of the original Band ends.) He started a new Lonely Hearts Club Band and they soon became famous. Music: Steve Martin singing Maxwell's Silver Hammer is great! Earth Wind And Fire's did great too! Aerosmith singing Come Together is excellent! On par with the original! George Burns singing "Fixing A Hole" was classic. Billy Preston's "Get Back" was pretty interesting. He turned everybody into Catholics. The last song, sung by a bunch of people (I'm assuming the cast members), was pretty good. The BeeGees weren't too bad. They were actually kinda good. Actually, most of the songs were pretty good, but some were laughably bad. (Like "When I'm 64") Basically, no plot, mostly good music, crazy random story, guilty pleasure. See it if you have the chance and want to laugh at some stupidity. All in all, this movie is the epitome of "Guilty Pleasure". It is so horrible that it is great!