I just got home from today's screening, and I agree with a lot of what was already said by the others who saw it last night. Overall, it's great, and I feel that they did the best that they could in converting this unique stage musical to the big screen. The beautiful music was well-preserved and often sounds richer than the stage version. The original story is untouched and comes across as intended. The use of real-world settings and the addition of other (voiceless) performers only adds to the entertainment value. But there are some definite flaws.
A lot of the scenes start with dialogue between Jamie and Cathy, so sometimes you had to pause and remind yourself which timeline you were watching. In the stage show, when you only see and hear one person, you know exactly where you are in the story. In the film, not so much. There were some scenes where dialogue made sense in the context of the song, but there were other moments of dialogue that I felt the film could have done without, and the film would probably have had better flow without that dialogue. Though the bits of dialogue did make up some of the funniest moments of the film, which LaGravenese explained were mostly ad-libbed.
In terms of cast, I felt that it was very obvious what experience each actor brought to the role. Jeremy Jordan's performance was so energetic, charismatic, and fun that it was obvious that this guy has a range of musical theatre experience. I found his Jamie extremely likable, even at the end. He just seemed like a fun, happy guy that you'd want to hang out with (well, maybe not at the end). His scene of giddyness/excitement before "Moving to Fast" is one of my favourite moments in the entire film, and it was explained during the Q&A that it was entirely improvised. The Schmuel Song, which I have always felt was a bit out of place in the show, was also a standout in terms of Jordan's comical performance. Vocally, he was wonderful. I remember during Smash, people were deliberating whether Jimmy was such an annoying character because of the horrible writing or because of Jordan's acting, and after seeing him play Jamie, I realize that given good material, he really is magnetic. He was also really fun during the Q&A afterwards.
In Anna Kendrick's performance, you saw the acting experience - her expressions of sadness, disappointment, pain, happiness, etc came through clearly throughout. Vocally, I'd say she was decent. Not quite as good as a lot of the stage actors that have done the role, but she came close enough. I didn't find her as nasal/grating/screechy, etc. as others here felt about the clip that was released. I'd say that her vocal skills are leagues above those of some other Hollywood actors that have been cast in musicals lately. But I did feel that Jordan's scenes held my attention and interest a lot more than hers. The two had great chemistry together.
Another thing that bugged me was that there was way too much singing while kissing/making out/embracing/undressing/having sex. I started to get the feeling that they thought that the more times Jordan took of his shirt, the more girls would see the film? As a result, there were some really cheesy scenes, including the clip that was released yesterday. There were many scenes that were of much better quality that should have been chosen as a "first look."
I only remember noticing the shaky camera once, otherwise it didn't seem low budget at all. LaGravenese mentioned that Jordan had brought the sound people over from Smash to do the sound.
I`m glad I saw it at one of the first screenings, because the theatre was filled with fans of the show and theatre fans in general. You heard chuckling and mumbles go through the crowd every time there was a cameo (and there are some great ones!) - this is something that is always missing in a wide release, where the fans of the original work make up only a small minority of the audience.
If anyone is wondering, the lyric changes that were made for the most recent revival were also in the film. Apparently any change was run by either JRB or his wife (cause JRB was busy working on Bridges at the time). There is less swearing because you are only allowed one f-bomb in a PG-13 film.
LaGravenese and Jordan did a Q&A afterwards. JRB was not there. Cake (Anna Kendrick`s other film at TIFF) had its premiere in the theatre below us at the same time, so I had assumed that she would make an appearance, but she did not. I guess timing did not work out. LaGravanese explained that he tried to preserve the original material as much as possible (with the exception of having both characters on screen together). He made a comment about how picky musical theatre fans are about making changes to their favourite shows, and the room erupted in applause. He also said he tried to keep it as far away from "Hollywood influence" as possible, and that is why it was completely independently funded - so that he could maintain control. It sounds like they had a lot of fun making it. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to be one of the first to see it and I can't wait to see it again in February.
Updated On: 9/8/14 at 08:38 PM
