Saw it yesterday, and loved it. Did it have faults? Absolutely, but it’s safe to save this new version stands on its own. The 1961 fully captures the stylized interpretation, costume designs, set designs, and choreography of the original 1957 Broadway production, so for that alone, it is irreplaceable.
The Jets/Sharks choreography by Justin Peck was hard to swallow for me. Loved that Spielberg expanded on the Prologue visually, showing how the Jets run the neighborhood, etc. “Cool”‘ was uncomfortably awkward with Peck trying to blend realism with dance kick vocabulary. It was so cheesy and just didn’t translate on film for me. Peck’s Dance at the Gym is beyond fantastic and giving DeBose more to do than just the mambo, was electrifying. Wow!
”Gee, Officer Krupke” and “I Feel Pretty”? Ouch. The film was keeping a realistic tone then wham, here we get 2 traditional musical numbers DONE as traditional musical numbers. Those were painful to watch. The scenes they were in were great (the Gwen Verdon-ish hooker in the precinct was delicious!), then wham, we get a cheesy musical theater number.
The Spanish inclusion was perfection and had me laughing quite a bit (especially Maria’s “sangano&rdquo
. Mike Faist. Wow! Elgort’s Tony could not have been better. His voice suited the Tony songs perfectly. Great debut for Zegler.
Now, Rita Moreno’s Valentina was such a great addition. But less is more, guys. Her early scenes with Tony were adorably beautiful. Then she kept popping up. The spark of her character faded quickly. Having her sing “Somewhere” out of context, made NO sense. The lyrics make sense when Tony and Maria sing it, but zooming in on an old photo of a young Valentina and Doc didn’t dictate the lyrics she was singing were to Doc. They exhausted her character for me. Less is more, guys. Shoulda given us just enough, not the whole meal. Get a life, Valentina. Hahaha.
Now, many are mentioning the ending. My beef is: okay, 2 gunshots in a neighborhood and zero people acknowledge it or come out onto the street, etc? In the stage version and the 1961 film Tony is shot in a vacant schoolyard basketball court. No one being around was justifiable. In this new one, apparently Doc’s Drugstore is open 24/7 and is in a ghost town. Yes, buildings are half demolished across the street, etc but not on the street the drugstore is on. Having people reacting to the gunshots, coming out of the buildings and onto the street would have made such an impact with the community being brought into a realistic moment. Then when Maria loses her s**t, having everyone stand back. No one interferes and just watches. Having the crowds stand back and watch as the Jets carry off Tony and Maria walking behind them as the camera pans out would have been impactful. What we get here is the camera panning up and Valentina and Chino walking behind Maria/Jets/Tony in a deserted COVID-ish nuclear war zone. Um, no. Sorry, Spielberg. No years from me. The image that punched me in the gut and broke me was when Riff turns and looks into Tony’s eyes right after being stabbed. That alone will earn Faist an Oscar nomination.
