Shucked (Cast Album)

 With the recent announcement of this show getting a film adaptation I decided to take a look through the cast album, this show centered on Corn will be getting a tour shortly and I hope to see it, but for now, all I have is the album. Looking into the plot, this show is about love, a farm, planning schemers, and corn, lots of corn. There are many uses for corn and many ways corn is used as an analogy for other things in life, in this fun corn-cobbed comedy. Country is not my favorite genre of music and never has been, but there is some country music-influenced musicals that I truly love and have seen live, such as Waitress for the prime example. So let's get some corn puns ready and embark on this musical journey through the cast album of the new musical Shucked. 

The music from going from just the cast album seems to tell the story of a small town, that may be a little small-minded, saving the corn, bringing in outsiders, and proving yourself to be more than what the world thinks you as, and love, sometimes love that is intentionally and some that is comedically accidental. It reminds me of The Music Man a little but I am going off of just the cast album, so for all I know in the context of the story these songs could have totally different meanings. Until proven otherwise this is what I think of the album so far. 

The music is very much inspired by country, it uses country style and instrumentation for several songs but isn't afraid to have songs that don't sound out of place in a musical. It mixes country with the grandness of the stage with the simple pleasures of country and it works. It ends up creating these down-to-earth but not forced character moments in the songs, making strong solos and fun group numbers. Some of the songs are strong ballads about breaking out of what others viewed you as, or being okay being alone but still being strong. The variety of songs is great, my favorite being "Independently Owned", with close runners-up being "Traveling Song", "Woman Of The World", "Corn Reprise", "OK", and  "Friends". A couple of the songs I would listen to again and I don't mind, on the other hand not so much, but plenty of gems as listed here. 

The country music inspiration does not take away from the show because it makes sense in terms of the environment, story, and narrative. It fits naturally akin to that of the musical Waitress where it is the style the show chose and it sticks with it. The slower songs that sound more Broadway-like are not distractions but rather so the audience doesn't feel oversaturated with the country style, but even then it sounds like still a little like country so it doesn't break the flow, just not as much as some of the other songs. This show knows it's identity and sticks with it all the way through, and by doing that, stays consistent. 

The songs are not afraid to use humor as well, whether it is a quick number full of gossip not appropriate for all ages, or one full of the many uses of corn. Whether it be a punch line or a quick pun about corn, the light-heartedness helps make the slower ballads stand out, even a whole song about being a bible believing Christian but loving alcohol and to party. The show has love ballads and I want songs but there are many great numbers about just life itself. Many songs fit the Broadway show roadmap whether it is a love ballad or a side character comedy song, but even though it follows the outline we all know, the songs are well written. Not every song is going into my playlist but a good number are. There were definitely more numbers I loved and hummed along with, pressing repeat on than not. There were only a few songs that I did not want to visit again or might skip on another trip through this show about corn, love, and more corn.  

Just as an album alone, judging these as just songs, I enjoyed myself. Removing the story since I have not seen it play out, just as an album this was very fun. There was a good use of comedy and even a really fun reprise of the songs towards the end and makes for a really funny listen. Towards the end of the album, for example, there is the song called "Corn Mix," it feels more like a fun comedy medley than a song, but I had fun with it. And that sums things up the best, I had fun with a ton of songs and found some I will listen to again and again. 

I think this could work as a movie, as long as it doesn't try to be something it is not. The music is pretty good and if they can make it grand without going over the top it could work. Kind of like how Mean Girls almost kind of sort of worked but was on a modest budget and thus was a hit. They could film it in a way to makes the music stand out, but they need to keep it simple because that is where the charm of this show comes from. The stage set of this show is a giant barn with barely a set to call home, only some modest pieces. Letting the music, story, jokes, and fun characters push things along. I hope the film does the same, keeping things down to earth so the writing and music can shine. I found quite a few numbers I enjoyed, so I would definitely see this live and watch the movie, I will probably do both as soon as possible. An album that reflects how this show is packed to the brim with corny jokes and a fun easy-to-follow narrative but is overall fun, and sometimes in life we need fun, and Shucked is just great plain fun. The show also hides deeper messages in the lyrics that are good to relate to, some empowering songs as well. This show is fun and I will definitely be giving it a listen until I can see it, If you want some good music that is full of charm, and heart, and is just a good time, give this a listen. It is worth a listen, for a fun time with some good music, and some that may just inspire you as well. 

The Wicked Movie Trailer #1

 Super Bowl Sunday has come in gone, but the discourse is still ongoing, whether it is memes about Taylor Swift, the mostly disappointing commercials, some of the movie trailers, or perhaps even the game itself. But for me let's take a step back to one of those, the movies. Specifically the first showing of the upcoming Wicked movie. One of the biggest musicals in theater history, this one defined theater and inspired many for upwards of over two decades now. The movie was trapped in a perpetual purgatory, only existing as rumors, stories, and word of mouth in a tumultuous development cycle have flown for the better part of a decade, and it has finally arrived. As a two-part epic, so did the trailer sell me, or are we perhaps in for something bad? Let's defy gravity, throw caution to the wind, and find out. 

For those unaware this is the narrative story following Elphaba, the supposed wicked witch of the west, and Glinda the good witch, in a prequel to The Wizzard Of Oz, finding there is more than meets the eye and perhaps not all the stories that persist are true. With a powerful score, strong ballads, and a beautiful message, this show has been keeping audiences encouraged and engaged for over twenty years now. The movie shows none of that. This is once again a movie trailer that hides so many facts about the film. 

If you read the descriptions or follow the press only then is it revealed that this movie is only one half of a whole piece, followed by the fact that like other modern movie musicals, hides the fact that it is a musical. No characters are shown singing, and one song is played throughout the trailer but it is just used as background music to add to the scope of the trailer, rather than showcase a musical. No one is shown singing or dancing, and the trailer is quite short. This baffles me because unlike Mean Girls or The Color Purple where some people who do not follow musical theater may not know of an adaptation of the stage version and just take it as a reboot. Everyone knows Wicked is a musical, and everyone knows The Wizzard Of Oz is a famous musical. So why hide it? Why not showcase a musical, in a movie that everyone already knows is going to be a musical. One of the most famous Broadway musicals is getting a long-awaited film adaptation, so it's no secret, so trying to play cool and cover it up because some Hollywood insider said hiding musicals is the only way to make money, by tricking the audience and that musicals are guaranteed bombs is a dumb idea that needs to go. 

The director of this movie is the same as that of In The Heights, which has me cautiously optimistic because that movie was a mixed bag, full of highs and lows, great performances and music, mixed with baffling pacing and writing flaws, but that is for another day. I hope this fares better, with this being two movies I hope the whole story is told and the extended time is used to better the narrative, and not just add scenes and songs to try and stand out from the stage version and try to be different for the sake of looking cool. 

Visually this looks marvelous, the scope and scale are incredible. The makeup and costumes look fantastic and work wonderfully, the dialogue in the trailer was generic movie trailer dialogue so no comment there. The look was fantastic, the visuals were gorgeous and the best part of the trailer, the way it was shot had me and others asking questions and wondering where the placing of scenes and songs in this, as well as what was left to be shown. This short trailer covered what looked to be Act One and even potentially Act Two of the show, so wondering the pacing, and placement is fun speculation to have. Wondering what is real and what could be a fantastical dream sequence. 

This left me cautiously optimistic, I want to see more before truly judging this film, and this was such a small taste. But still a small taste that looked impressive in so many ways, but full of baffling choices like the way it was presented, and what was and wasn't shown. The basic dialogue chosen and the lack of music left me worried, but the visuals left me excited, and the little bit of music made me want to hear and see more in action. This trailer was pretty poorly made, with some bright spots, and I hope the next one is better, leaving me feeling excited but also a ton of mixed emotions. 

So I Finally Saw The Mean Girls Movie (The 2024 One... The Musical One)

The movie musical based on musical based on one of the most quoted movies from the early 2000s is finally here. And it took me a couple weeks to see it because it snowed like no tomorrow and I could not make it to the movie theater to see this film. But now I have and here are my thoughts. This movie was not advertised as a musical, so if someone did not follow the press on it, at first glance it seems to be a modern take on the classic tale of popularity, revenge, and staying true to yourself. But within thirty seconds the cast began to sing and I could even hear whispers of those watching in the theater saying "Wait this is a musical?!" as the film began, since the advertisers hid that fact even, weeks later, the audience I was with was shocked. This is the tale of Mean Girls. 2024. 

I have not seen the Mean Girls musical live, but have listened to the cast album live plenty of times, and have a few songs that I enjoy. I feel very mixed emotions on the album and that speaks the same for the film. There is a good amount of good, and unfortunately some undeniable bad. Let's start with the good, which is some of the cinematography is great, and the performances of Rennee' Rapp as Regina Geroge, Auli'i Cravalho as Janis, and Jaquel Spivey as Damian are the standouts performances, even Avantika and Bebe Wood as Karen and Gretchen have stand out moments comedically.

Some of the jokes are extremely hit-and-miss. One thing that works and makes sense is that social media is implemented in the story, making the movie take place in the modern-day than the time the film was first made. The small changes keep the plot moving along and don't distract but show what it would be like if the film was made today. Some of the more dated jokes were changed for different ones, and some of the plot points changed too. The problem is there is a constant quoting of old lines because the first movie had them and they are popular jokes and lines, sometimes are delivered as is, but other times they try to expand on the joke to make it last longer, and it just lands flat. Some of the original jokes and lines, are funny, and I wish there were more like them, this is when the movie stood out on its own two feet. The cameos in this movie work well, and there are some really fun in-jokes and easter eggs

My only problem acting wise lies with the lead Anguorie Rice as Cady Heron. She has some moments of just not seeming emotionally interested, even in the later half as the plot is ramping up. I chalk this up in a poor direction because her singing voice is good, but has no emotional range, everything is quiet and subtle. This works earlier when Cady is shy and still trying to understand herself, but even later she acts the same as she did when the movie started.

The cinematography of this movie is all over the place, some of the songs are presented like music videos, others like TikTok filters, and some as if they were just regular songs. The style can change to black and white, or a giant party music video at a moment's notice, while at other times the songs add a new stylistic flare while still being in the environment they take place. For example "Someone Gets Hurt" has a good idea of manipulating the others at the party they are all at like puppets, while time stops and starts, it looks and sounds amazing. While "Revenge Party" can just be a random parade snapping between reality and dream world, or "Sexy" can be part TikTok, part music video, part musical number. It can be super distracting, but sometimes works. Sometimes the ideas blend naturally with the film and song, but other times they stick out. 

And speaking of the music, some of it works and some of it doesn't. To be fair I was this way with the original album where half of the songs were ones I really enjoyed, and I felt some needed some changing or to be swapped out for different songs entirely. The film only has about half of the songs from the show, and the songs they picked are pretty good. Some of the songs that were cut I understand for the sake of flow but sometimes it feels like the movie is trying to jam two or three songs into a short span of time to make it seem like there are more songs than there are. Only to have there be long stretches of no song, then suddenly you get like three back-to-back. The performances are really good starting with half of "Sexy" and mostly with "Someone Gets Hurt". 

The movie has a slow drag and start in terms of writing, jokes, and songs, but then picks up for the second half, with only a couple rocky moments here and there, but to be fair I did not like "Revenge Party" as a song even in the original, so the movie starts bad but then ends good and picks up. Leaving a mixed bag of quality of a good amount of good and bad, with pretty bad pacing issues. It is worth a watch, there is enough good in there that it is worth at least one watch, and I have seen worse movie musicals. There is enough good going that it is worth at least one viewing, as for me, I plan on watching it again at least once to see if I enjoy it more. For every "World Burn" and "I'd Rather Be Me" there's a "Stupid With Love". There are so many changes, some working and some not, so many style choices, some working and some not, that the movie sometimes lacks focus and identity. The overreliance on telling the jokes and story of the original gives it little wiggle room, but sometimes it works to the film's advantage and others its detriment. Overall this is a movie that can sit with me even though it isn't the most fetch movie I have ever seen.