KISS ME KATE (1953) *1/2 I have no idea why so many people consider Cole Porter such a great song writer. I mean, he so obviously wasn't. He may have been a nice guy, I bet he was, but John Lennon he was definitely not. At the conclusion of this my wife declared "That's the worst musical I've ever seen…" I wouldn't go quite that far, but I'm repressing any worse ones right off the top of my head. There are many songs, they're awful, and they're not short (though they do engage that terrible-song metaphysical phenomenon of seeming hours longer than they actually are). Between songs there's some fairly funny stuff, occasionally, and some of the lyrical turns are clever for…you know, a seventh-grader or something. I think it suffers from society improving so much since that time…whereas it must have always seemed a little bit campy, that's now its sole virtue. What must have been terribly suggestive at the time has become cliché…it's like a lame wannabe Casanova at a too lit watering hole. He, it, has no chance. I bet someone, somewhere once described this-without irony-as "freewheeling." It's a blessing that we've evolved past that, and incredible that we didn't for millions of years.
back to Brilliant Observations on 2525 Films page, or Index
go back home, or send me email
Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your exciting new terrorist novel!
I've already read both of your novels. Thank you, they're amazing. Now I want to check out your weekly blog on everything