Temptation- Page 2

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 3:52pm

It's amazing, because I keep telling people things that happen in the film and then just start cracking up because it sounds like I'm making them up!

"And then, they danced shirtless beside a convertible driven by a bobble-headed Manley Pope!"

"There were animated bunny rabbits in the diner drinking coffee!"

"So the zebras came across the screen again, and then the wolf showed up and turned around and stared at the audience!"

"And then, Adam insisted he was a business man, and all the skyscrapers danced in the backround!"

"I swear, he got on the bus wearing the ugliest sunglasses known to man, a flowy shirt with cap sleeves while doing the conga".

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:10pm

Okay, here I go. I had to write an "actual" review of this for something, so I'll lift some of my ideas from there, but it's very... serious. At least here I can have some fun while I get my ideas across... not TOO much fun of course.... we all know that can get a girl into trouble.

Cara's right. I called her, and I couldn't even speak; I was laughing SO hard. I don't even know, by the end, what I was laughing AT. The movie wasn't funny... it was just SO bad that it became funny... I think at that point my laughter was predominantly thanks to Adam. I was trying so hard to give Cara a semblance of a description, and it just wouldn't happen. I handed TGIF the phone and commanded her to explain what we'd just seen; she couldn't do it either.

Anyway, it was really, really nice to see these stage actors whom we love so much get a shot at the big screen - something a lot of them don't get. It was nice to see their names in huge lettering up there. I was a proud fan.

I'm not sure where to begin.... the music was definitely enjoyable, but not memorable. I felt like a lot of it sounded too similar, and that after a while it all bled together, with a few varying exceptions. I thought everyone sounded amazing; if for nothing else than the vocal performances in this movie, it was worth it. I was bothered by the fact that the vocals sounded like they were technically altered and toyed with, but that may be partly due to the fact that I was sitting so close that my ears hurt, and that we're used to hearing these voices in their natural states, completely unaltered when they perform live. It was great to see even the actors who just had small singing roles, namely Anika Noni Rose, Orfeh and Felicia Finley (Aida sentiments, of course). I actually thought Manley sounded good; a lot of people don't like him, but I've always liked his voice. His acting, however, was laughable. He made a lot of really funny facial expressions, but he's pretty, so I couldn't hate him *too* much. Michael Cerveris' performance was so intense - and what a voice on him! I'll admit that for a while, I was terribly anti-Michael because I was convinced that he had "Raul's Tony," but I'm over that now; he's great. I thought Zoe Saldana was great, too. Beautiful voice - and she is gorgeous. I'd never seen Alice Ripley do anything before, but I loved her. Great voice. My only complaint with her was that I felt like her chemistry with Adam didn't exist. When he kissed her, it was just not believable... and I KNOW he can do better. The movie had a lot of sexual energy, and during the more "explicit" scenes with those two, I was just thinking "come on, you can do better." Deven May is adorable; last night convinced me to pick up a copy of the Bat Boy CD, ASAP. He reminded me a bit of Cheyenne Jackson, for some reason. It was nice to see Sebastian Arcelus, even though he didn't do much. I was never a fan of his Roger, but he's a talented guy and he's nice, so I like him. And, here it comes: Adam Pascal. *shakes head* Adam, Adam, Adam. What do I say? I really thought that with he'd outdone his own ability for weirdness with Cabaret, but I was SO wrong. First of all, I think it's going to be a while before I can take him seriously again. Seeing the man in not one, but three sweater-vests, a snake charmer's hat (while playing a flute!) a sparkly-red bowtie, bright yellow pants, a platinum blonde wig, pink pants, a pinstrip business suit, geeky glasses, and (my personal favorite) the cheerleading outfit, complete with pom-poms was entirely too much to handle. Every time he did something outrageous, I couldn't control my laughter, and I'd sink lower and lower into my seat. It was hysterical. On a serious note, though, I was extremely impressed with his acting; like I said before, given the time frame of when they shot this, I didn't expect his acting to be anywhere near how good it was. He played the "bad guy" surprisingly well (and I felt sorry for him when Sabrina left him at the end; he just looked so sad!), though he still did manage to insert more than a few of those "Adamisms" I've come to love: the eye-rolling, the hands ("Let's go SHOPPING!") and the way that he acts with his eyebrows. I thought he sounded amazing, even with the technical processing I was talking about earlier. I love his falsetto, and it was in full force last night. You could see that he really got into the music and that the little bit of rock star he's still got in him had a chance to shine. I was glad he got as much camera time as he did. Those eyes, that smile... even when so sinister, he just made me melt. Okay, enough of my fangirliness. More on the movie...

The animation. The movie would've just worked better without it. I guess that was the thing that was supposed to be "unique" and different about it, but I spent way too much time trying to figure out what half of it was supposed to mean... time that should've been spent paying attention to the plot. Some of it, I'm sure was meant to be trippy and weird like it was, but I'd like to assume that some of it had deeper meaning than that... you know, more meaning than "WTF? It's The Circle of Life!" or bunny rabbits in coffee cups or dancing New York City skyscrapers (which, by the way, dance better than Adam does). A lot of it, aside from being completely nonsensical, just... didn't look good.

Now, allow me to touch on the highlight of my evening: Nicholi's Gospel Bus Revival. I don't think I've ever seen anything so bizarre in my entire life. Ever. What in hell was that supposed to be? Honestly, now. I laughed so hard that I cried, and that made me realize the most logical of the probable explanations for Mr. Pascal's absence last night. I still wonder how they got him to do half of that stuff... but at least he proved that he's got a sense of humor as an actor.

I've written too much, I know. I'll end by saying that it was DEFINITELY a good time. All I wanted out of it was for it to be so bad that I could laugh about it, and I laughed enough to last me three months. Would I see it again? Actually, yes. It was awful, but the cast was amazing. It's a rarity to see so many immensely talented people in a movie, and for that, I was grateful. It is a shame that such talent was all pooled together and shoved into something so utterly strange, but they were together nonetheless... and it was hysterical. I think that's about all I can make of it.

Updated On: 9/28/04 at 04:10 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:20pm

I do try. But tell me - am I allowed to say that Adam's a bad dancer... or is that objectification?

... but you KNOW they did.

Updated On: 9/28/04 at 04:20 PM

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:25pm

If this movie provides that much laughter, I MUST see it. Wonder when and if it will be released on DVD. I love movies that are so bad that they are good.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:38pm

haha great review (as always) emcee!!!


"And, here it comes: Adam Pascal. *shakes head* Adam, Adam, Adam. What do I say? I really thought that with he'd outdone his own ability for weirdness with Cabaret, but I was SO wrong. First of all, I think it's going to be a while before I can take him seriously again. Seeing the man in not one, but three sweater-vests, a snake charmer's hat (while playing a flute!) a sparkly-red bowtie, bright yellow pants, a platinum blonde wig, pink pants, a pinstrip business suit, geeky glasses, and (my personal favorite) the cheerleading outfit, complete with pom-poms was entirely too much to handle. Every time he did something outrageous, I couldn't control my laughter, and I'd sink lower and lower into my seat. It was hysterical. On a serious note, though, I was extremely impressed with his acting; like I said before, given the time frame of when they shot this, I didn't expect his acting to be anywhere near how good it was. He played the "bad guy" surprisingly well (and I felt sorry for him when Sabrina left him at the end; he just looked so sad!), though he still did manage to insert more than a few of those "Adamisms" I've come to love: the eye-rolling, the hands ("Let's go SHOPPING!") and the way that he acts with his eyebrows. I thought he sounded amazing, even with the technical processing I was talking about earlier. I love his falsetto, and it was in full force last night. You could see that he really got into the music and that the little bit of rock star he's still got in him had a chance to shine. I was glad he got as much camera time as he did. Those eyes, that smile... even when so sinister, he just made me melt. Okay, enough of my fangirliness. "

i would KILL for a picture of adam in the cheerleading outfit! omg i am like dying of laughter right now!

[TGIF]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:40pm

I heard it should be coming out on DVD, and if you are an Adam fan, or atleast have seen him perform atleas once get i because you will throughly enjoy yourself!


Emcee, I was right - I couldnt have said it better! You'll have to send me your actual review.

Also, you forgot when he was dressed as a mime!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:43pm

If the DVD ever comes out, buy it just for Nicholi's Gospel Bus Revival. It's funny, it's scary, it's really trippy.... *dies laughing*

Thanks TGIF and ponine. My actual review is AWFUL - I had to try to take this seriously, and it didn't work very well.

And yes, add "mime" to the list of things Adam decided he could be!

[TGIF]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:45pm

haha such a great list!

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:45pm

Yup, still confused... Actually, more so than when I started out. O.K.!

[KatePrinceton]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:45pm

But tell me - am I allowed to say that Adam's a bad dancer... or is that objectification?

Interesting question. Maybe you should shove your cell phone in his face and have your friend ask him.

[Al Dente]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:46pm

Dancing skyscrapers and Bunnies in coffee cups? WOW. And I thought I'd impress you all with my tales of Val Kilmer walking into the 10 commandments after party obviously stoned and wearing a headband. But I see my story has absolutely nothing on Temptation. Are you serious? I am truly, without a hint of sarcasm, sorry I missed this. Thanks for the belly laugh, LUV. And I know Cerveris can be good in anything, so that and the general raves for the cast, don't surprise me. What does, is the fact that they were able to assemble such a remarkable cast for such a terrible project. What went wrong?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:48pm

I HAVE to see this!

AND add it to my video collection when they release it! LOL.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:49pm

'I heard it should be coming out on DVD, and if you are an Adam fan, or atleast have seen him perform atleas once get i because you will throughly enjoy yourself!'

OMG!!! I SO HAVE TO GET THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:50pm

LOL! Al, glad I could make you laugh. It's the least I could do after all of the laughter I had last night! I wish you had seen it! I agree completely with you, though. It's a shame it was as bad as it was, because the cast is so talented. Oh well... 'twas entertaining nonetheless.

[Al Dente]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:54pm

:), indeed.

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 4:55pm

And where was I???

I'm so pissed that I missed this one but there was me choosing Broadway Unplugged over this! What have I done!!!

I SO have to see this but I fear that this will never make it onto a DVD

QM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:00pm

QM, I'm sure you had fun, too. Seriously, though, you'd have died laughing at this. I'm not kidding. I'm laughing just picturing your reaction to it all.

[insomniak]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:10pm

I would die to see Adam in those outfits- I just can not picture them. Our Adam? Macho hero-y Adam? Cheerleading? Never. What was his character's point, anyway? What was the point of the movie?

Can I see the 'actual' review, too?

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:12pm

Stop rubbing it in, Emcee!!! *CRIES*

Undiscovered hardly made any sense when I spoke to her, so I knew it was ... erm... bad?.... amazing? I don't know, I just knew I should have been there to witness the 'hands' when Adam commanded 'Let's go shopping'!

I was actually trying to sell my ticket for Broadway Unplugged outside Town Hall last night and see Temptation instead. I paid $50 for it and this guy was like 'I give you 10 bucks' ... but I'd rather have eaten it before selling it for that much.

Anyway, had a great time and it was SO good to see the Assassins boys Michael Cerveris and Mark Kudisch again! How I missed them *BIG SIGH*

But I still should have seen THIS! It sounds so weird, I would have had such a laugh

QM

Updated On: 9/28/04 at 05:12 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:13pm

Adam's character was like the devil. He was the definite bad guy in the movie - he tried to steal people's souls or something. The story is about selling your soul to the devil, etc.

The actual review is disastrous. Really. I had to try to take this thing seriously, which it is very evident that I could not do!

And yes. I kid you not. Adam wore all of these things. Granted, he was clean-shaven and his hair was really short, so it wasn't the scruffy, rough-around-the-edges Adam we're used to, but still... amazingly funny.

[insomniak]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:16pm

So what was he SHOPPING! for?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:17pm

QM of COURSE she made no sense. While she was talking to you, I was trying to talk to Cara. None of us made any sense. Emphasis on the "SHOPPING," though. *rolls over laughing*

Insomniak, he was shopping for a part of someone's soul that he wanted to take. Each part was a little black and white striped box.

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:21pm

'QM of COURSE she made no sense. While she was talking to you, I was trying to talk to Cara. None of us made any sense'

And I thought they had handed out free alcohol or something! I was like 'woah, WTF are you talking about, WEIRDO!'

'Insomniak, he was shopping for a part of someone's soul that he wanted to take. Each part was a little black and white striped box.'

*GASP* Brilliant!!!

QM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:23pm

And there WAS free alcohol at the party... which we didn't go to. Imagine that movie followed by alcoholic drinks; that'd be trip.

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 9/28/04 at 5:24pm

"I can't believe half the things they got him to do; the cheerleading outfit, "let's go SHOPPING!" (hands, geeky glasses and all...). He did sound great, though. I love when he gets to show off his falsetto. "


Okay. Now you HAVE to ellaborate. Cheerleading outfit? What the heck?