A Chorus Line (1985)

A Chorus Line

I was fortunate enough to see the original Broadway Play and I was captivated by the story line and the fantastic, heart warming characters in the play. Too bad the Movie Directors and Script Writers had to do a hack job of the play by changing the plot, changing character plots, and adding way too much to the story and settings.

When will they ever learn that if a Broadway Play is a huge success like "A Chorus Line" was, you don't mess with it and destroy the whole meaning of the play and its characters? This Movie was a complete disaster. It changed the entire story line, shifting the attention off the the dancers as were meant to be, to making it all about the love between Casey and the Casting Director.

They even screwed up the MAIN song in the play, "What I did for Love" and that truly angered me. What she did for love was DANCE!!! By changing the story line and plot, from her love of dancing, to her love for the Casting Director, it changed the whole meaning of the song and as far as I'm concerned, destroyed the Movie.

Wait till the Broadway Play comes to a city near you and even if you have to buy the nose bleed seats, it's well worth it just to see the play as it was meant to be see!!!!
July 21, 2008

Good Show

Pretty much a must-have for the musical buff. High points: Audrey Landers, several good dancing numbers, Michael Douglas. Negatives: A bit on the campy side at times, but still a fun movie to watch. June 20, 2008

Please, just the song and dance

Spectacular. . .when there is singing and dancing; tedious (pretentious, trite, self-absorbed. . .so 1980's) when there is talking. Fast forward through Michael Douglas and you have yourself an enjoyable movie. May 29, 2008

I love dance movies!

Especially ones from the eighties! Its not even the story line, the actors, the acting or productions value...its the dancing. I love to watch real dancers rehearsing, auditioning and just dancing. It is so inspiring! Pick this up if you are a true dance lover! May 2, 2008

Must have been great on Broadway...

I've never seen this on stage so I can't compare the film to the original production. I can imagine that it must have been dazzling at the time. The concept of introducing the dancers as real people is great and enables us to care about them over and beyond their ability to dance. The whole Broadway mystique is evoked and one is amazed at the sacrifices these people make for the love of dance and the theater.

Most of the cast was good. I can understand that the choices were for excellent dancers, first, then some singing ability and some looks and personality, plus a diversity of sexes, ethnic groups etc. They managed to come up with a pretty good group although I did find some of them forgettable. I thought Michael Douglas was actually quite good as the hyper-talented but bastardly choreographer.

The weak spot in the film was the character of Cassie, who plays a central part in the story. She is a great dancer and can sing well enough but has no charisma and is generally painful to watch (especially in the flashback scenes in which she has really horrible hair!) One has a hard time imagining Michael Douglas in love with her. If a more sympathetic or attractive woman had filled that role, the whole film would have had more sparkle.

I think that a major attraction for the musical was its novelty--a style that was breakthrough at the time but it which has been imitated so frequently that by now, unless it's done really well, it's a bit lackluster. I think diehard dance fans will enjoy it more than the general public. March 3, 2008

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