As we continue our journey through this retrospective our next stop, much like the version made by Andrew Llyod Webber thar I covered recently was released last year. This one as an Amazon Prime exclusive starring a myriad of talented people, and some Broadway alums as well. This version much like a work I have delayed covering "Diana The Musical" on Netflix has garnered much disapproval, criticism, and ranked as some of the worse musical media in recent years. But I have to cover and cannot put it off any longer! Is this truly as awful as people say? The only way to find out is to view it so let's go on this carriage ride we may or may not wish to forget.
This is so bad... that is worth a watch, it is so bad that it's good. I was laughing and in a confused state the entire time for all the wrong reasons, so let's cover the true positive aspects. Billie Porter is amazing as always and he steals every scene he is in. Every performer is a great singer, and the songs, though this is a jukebox musical are enjoyable they are fun. Unlike the album I covered a couple weeks back, I actually joined the musical, they were songs we all know like "Somebody To Love" and "Material Girl" but it is fun.
The story adds a bunch of modern additions that do not work, including the music being a jukebox musical, it is well performed but it always breaks the pace of the show. The comedy falls flat, and they try to add new story lines like businesswoman Cinderella, arranged marriages, status, the prince being viewed as stupid and being with the bros all the time, a princess who is not allowed to govern and more. All these storylines mean and lead to nothing as they just keep returning to the tale we all know, they are not additions because many of them never land, if you wish to be different then you must commit. But this version has so many different storylines all with a world that is ho hum that we have seen so many times before that they are just extending the length without investing the audience.
As for the dialogue, it is a mess, a mix of flourish and modern lingo that will make you laugh but not at the jokes. Every joke falls flat, and the characters are one dimensional as the pages of the story book they are adapted from. They try to make it modern and raise questions and make statements, but they never land. The worst character being the king played by Pierce Bronson, he is so irredeemable that every scene he is in makes you hate the character. The only ones that could give him a run for his royal money are the mice who not only add nothing, are not funny, and add annoying screeches to songs, but are also made with terrible CGI. The film is shot well enough, but the effects are laughable. The songs all being recognizable making this a jukebox musical is super distracting, but the music is fun. The choreography is great, and this is well performed, but the music doesn't fit, and the writing is terrible.
The jokes, modern story lines akin to a workplace comedy or drama and modern lingo never fit and make for a ton of laughs. This film is so bad that it makes for a great watch with friends to enjoy. Nothing in this film works aside from the performances and singing and even those don't fit. This has to be seen at least once just to see how poorly made an adaptation can get. Adding modern elements and current songs to date a timeless tale. So even though it doesn't work there is entertainment to be had here and tons of fun, with some great covers of songs we all know, I can say I enjoyed this much more and laughed much more than I did with the Andrew Llyod Webber version, even if for the wrong reasons. This may not be good but is worth an enjoyable watch with friends and talking about way past midnight.
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