ST Alpha - "I've now actually seen one of this year's best pic noms! And I can say that West Side Story... is a movie that exists." (Reading a Post)

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I've now actually seen one of this year's best pic noms! And I can say that West Side Story... is a movie that exists.

Posted by Cuzzin Todd (aka cuzzintodd) Mar 25 '22, 20:22

Admittedly, I generally don't care for movie musicals. There's been some exceptions over the years. I liked Hairspray. That one a few years back with Hugh Jackman about the circus. Of course the musical ep of Buffy. And the original West Side Story.

The problem with this updated version, in a word, was Tony. This guy is where charisma goes to die. He had zero chemistry with Maria. And since that love story is kind of the crux of the whole thing, the movie overall suffers. And I thought Rachel Ziegler was... fine.

The standouts for me were among the supporting cast. Particularly Anita. She and Bernardo had real chemistry together. Unlike Mr. No Charisma and Maria. Which pretty much robbed the ending of any emotional punch.

But damn, America was a joy to watch.

Responses:

OKL, so, I have a fundamental problem with it, which is that it's about Puerto Rican immigration. Puerto Ricans are Americans. They cannot immigrate. -- nm - loosilu Mar 25, 20:37 11
- fun fact: the original story was about jews from lithuania and russia -- nm - zeitgeist Mar 25, 22:15 1
  - It was about a couple of kids from two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona... -- nm - . Mar 26, 02:51
- "Puerto Ricans are Americans." Yeah, sure. (NM) - Marlowe Mar 25, 20:44 2
  - If they move to the 48 states, they can vote. -- nm - loosilu Mar 25, 20:48 1
    - Not make them 'Muricans, that don't! (NM) - Joe Bob Racist Mar 25, 21:03
- It's brown people moving into a white city. Racists don't care about such linguistic technicalities. -- nm - Cuzzin Todd Mar 25, 20:43 1
  - It's this. -- nm - loosilu Mar 25, 20:49
- I think you are getting hung up on a (albeit correct) technicality here. The experience, especially perhaps in that era, was like immigrating.... -- (edited) - ty97 Mar 25, 20:39 3
  - is it the same? they can't get deported. -- nm - loosilu Mar 25, 20:47 2
    - Legally? No. Socially? Yeah, there's a fuckton of prejudice and bigotry. -- nm - Beryllium Mar 25, 20:49 1
      - Yeah, I've seen it. -- nm - loosilu Mar 25, 20:53
Might be the role as Tony wasnt exactly all that in the 61 version - JD Mar 25, 20:30 3
- Technically he did sing. Not particularly well or with with anything approaching emotional resonance, but yes he sang. - Cuzzin Todd Mar 25, 20:35 1
  - I'm pretty sure that both of the 61 leads had their singing dubbed. Natalie Wood definitely was -- nm* - JD Mar 25, 21:00
- Not getting Ryan Gosling was a classic mistake. Spielberg always casts leading men that he thinks looks like him -- nm - Flavorize Mar 25, 20:34

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I've now actually seen one of this year's best pic noms! And I can say that West Side Story... is a movie that exists.

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