Good Review for EVERY LITTLE STEP in The Onion!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/12/08 at 11:39am

Maybe this got posted before, but its the A CHORUS LINE movie documentary:


Every Little Step

Director/Country/Time: Adam del Deo & James D. Stern, USA, 96 min.

Documentary

Program: Special Presentations

Headline: A documentary about auditioning for a Broadway show about auditioning for a Broadway show

Noel's Take: From the moment I first read about the premise for this doc—which follows a group of young performers as they try out for the revival of A Chorus Line, a show that's provided aspiring theater geeks with "Hey that's me!" moments for over 30 years—I figured there was no way it could miss. And it doesn't. Fans of A Chorus Line will appreciate the detailed history of the original show (including audio excerpts from the interviews that provided the foundation for the project) and multiple high-quality performances of most of the songs. Even people unfamiliar with A Chorus Line ought to be caught up in the drama of who's in and who's out, which significantly outstrips the manufactured drama of TV competition shows. (For one thing, the Chorus Line auditioners have more actual talent; and better backstories.) My only real qualm about the movie is that it's fairly unimaginative in its approach. Some talking heads say positive things, some young hopefuls sing and dance, some people get cut, some people get jobs, and everybody cries (including the audience). There's not much room for real surprise. Also, the actual image in Every Little Step—which is shot on not especially high-end video—appears pretty muddy. Or to put it another way: "Dance: 10. Looks: 3."

Grade: B+