ANNIE the movie is soooo bad

[morosco]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:45pm

I was surfing through the channels and came upon it on the Family channel. I can't believe the script has Miss Hannigan stripping down to her underwear in an effort to seduce Warbucks. Who's idea was THAT??

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:47pm

Which one is it? The old or new one?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:48pm

Do YOU remember Kathy Bates stripping?

*shudder*

[morosco]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:48pm

Carol Burnett and Albert Finney. The old one.

[jasobres]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:49pm

I think he's referring to the old one, which threw away the entire musical's original book and based it solely on the songs. And they added details from the original Little Orphan Annie comic strips that weren't in the musical, such as the character of Punjab.

Even though the new one is so much better, I don't like the new costume for Little Orphan Annie.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:52pm

That scene you are talking about is for the song/number "Sign" which was written for the film at Carol Burnett and Albert Finney's request. They wanted a solo scene and song together, which wasn't in the original stage version.

[morosco]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:54pm

I just can't understand why someone would think that a seduction scene performed in underwear would be appropriate for a movie like ANNIE.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:54pm

My question is what was the deal with the whole ending and them falling off that tower? It was so weird! And the "Movies" song instead of "NYC" was horrendous. The old movie makes the actual show look like an amazing work of art.

[roquat]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:07pm

Actually, I rather like the "Sign" song--by that time, the movie has become such a mess that it's fun to see Burnett and Finney just goofing off. And it's nice to see a Hannigan/Warbucks duet. Burnett is so perfect as Hannigan she makes nearly all her scenes work.

I agree the movie is criminal, though. To waste and misuse that amount of talent--who thought John Huston was a good idea, anyhow? The same person who gave CHORUS LINE to Richard Attenborough? And Arlene Phillips' choreography is unwatchable (even more so than her career-topping work in the Village People's CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC.)

Apparently it was decided that the material was too much of a comic strip and needed more "reality"--hence Carol Sobieski's hideous script, which comes off as more of a cartoon than the stage version. (Everyone I know who saw it was screaming "Fall! Fall!" at the end when Annie was dangling off the tower.) And it seems every movie musical must force in new songs to differentiate the movie soundtrack from the Broadway cast album--thus the wonderful "N.Y.C." is jettisoned for "Let's Go To the Movies", etc., etc. Aren't almost all of the real Broadway standards butchered on film? CHORUS LINE, GUYS AND DOLLS, GYPSY (Rosalind Russell version), MY FAIR LADY, OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL, FORUM, LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, MAN OF LA MANCHA, MAME--the list goes on and on.

[mauriposa]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:10pm

Yeah. Annie was the movie of my childhood. I watched it everyday, and sometimes more than once. As an adult, I don't really care about the changes they made to the original musical or the deletion/addition of songs. Usually when it comes to these things, I tend towards purism, but for Annie, it's never bothered me. Probably because I loved it before I knew any better.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:11pm

What a quinkie dink! I was just watching on there to! I admit it's not that good but Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, and Bernadette Peters in one movie!

I like the TV remake more though.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:21pm

I would not add My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Oklahoma to that list, roquat. But in response to the thread, yes the original Annie movie is horrendous. Why are the orphans doing acrobatics in "Hard Knock Life"? Why? Why? Why?

[ByMySide25]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:23pm

I found the TV remake to be soooooooo much better (nicely cast, too) but I wished they had included the "Hooverville" song.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:25pm

i think that the film version of carousel is an abomination of the stage version, which I have performed in more times than I care to admit.
Updated On: 11/26/06 at 05:25 PM

[Atrias]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:28pm

The girl I was just babysitting for saw this on the tv and begged me to watch it. I said "no" and changed the channel very quickly.

[Paulyd]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:40pm

the movie was a wasted opportunity. It had a fantastic cast,but a director who didnt really know what he was doing. Is this film still in the guiness book of records though, for the most amount of money paid for the rights for the stage version?

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:43pm

I remember thinking that the tower scene was ridiculous when I was like 5.

I absolutely adore the Disney TV version though. I've watched it far too many times.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:51pm

i think the movie was great. who cannot love audra? kristen was so wonderful too!

[Paulyd]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:11pm

The disney version was far superior to the original movie, but like most disney tv movies,it just looked kinda cheap and far too stagey. If it was shot with a decent budget, with the same cast and also with the full score this could have been a winner.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:31pm

I hate the Disney version, it bored me to tears. But I can't stand the musical Annie anyway, but I LOVE the 80s film, because it took it to a different direction rather than have a carbon copy. It's not a Brilliant film by any means, but rather a fun entertaining film.

What bugged me about the new version was it seemed very politically correct!

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:35pm

I am watching it right now, I like the Disney one more.

Edit: I love when Carol says "Leapin Lizzards!" Updated On: 11/26/06 at 06:35 PM

[teh_pretty]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:40pm

"Yeah. Annie was the movie of my childhood. I watched it everyday, and sometimes more than once. As an adult, I don't really care about the changes they made to the original musical or the deletion/addition of songs. Usually when it comes to these things, I tend towards purism, but for Annie, it's never bothered me. Probably because I loved it before I knew any better."

My sentiments EXACTLY. I wore out my tape when I was little from watching it so much. It's horrible-ness is what makes it so great. Not even Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters or Tim Curry can save it. Well, they do a little. Until the lift bridge and the weird circus at the end, then the whole thing goes down the toilet.

[ILUVTOMG]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:46pm

any movie that captures ann reinking dancing can't be all bad

Posted: 11/26/06 at 7:02pm

"Quiet, Mommy's watchin' ANNIE!"
- SERIAL MOM

[Miss B. L. T. Down]

Posted: 11/26/06 at 7:05pm

I thought the feature fim was awful. I could never understand why a director who hated the song "Tomorrow" would want to do the movie in the first place?

I really liked the tv movie from a few years back though. I recommended it to a few people who hated the feature film, and they really enjoyed it and had to admit that Annie isn't a bad musical after all. They were only basing their opinion on the awful 80s movie. I think it was even nominated for a couple of Razzies, wasn't it?