I hope everyone has been having an awesome Christmas week. I spent Christmas Day in the manner that any Jew would... at the movies. I saw Les Miserables with my family. Figured I might as well give a review for you guys.
First off... I've seen the show on Broadway, and my family is mainly comprised of theatre nerds. Now on to the review!
Holy crap this movie was long. 2 hours and 40 minutes to be exact... but it was a long ass show too, so it kinda comes with the territory. That being said I LOVED the movie. It stayed pretty damn true to show, which I approve of. I think the story transitioned to the screen relatively well... it was a little confusing at times... but then again so was the show. Most of the acting was incredible. Hugh Jackman was a convincing Jean Valjean, even though he couldn't hit all of the notes in "Bring Him Home" it was still passable. Amanda Seyfried and Samantha Barks played the parts Cosette and Eponine well... even though there really was never a whole lot to their characters. Oh well, Eponine didn't screw up "On My Own" so that's all that really matters. Eddie Redmayne was rather adorable as Marius, and he freaking nailed "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" (one of my favorite songs from the show). Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter played the Thenardier's in a delightful fashion. When I saw the show I thought those characters were really stupid and very forced comic relief. "Master of the House" was a surprisingly entertaining number in the movie, one I didn't particularly care for in the show. Of course Anne Hathaway was fan-freaking-tastic as Fantine. She added so much depth and realism to the part, it's amazing. When I saw the show I wasn't all that impressed with Fantine's character. I was like "ok, she's a prostitute... and now she's sad". Her performance was definitely a highlight. Also, the kids who played young Cosette and Gavroche were surprisingly good. Child actors can be hit and miss, but these guys sang and acted very well. Also, all of the student revolutionaries were adorable and I want to cuddle them all.
As far as acting goes, as awesome as everyone else was... RUSSELL CROWE SUCKED SO FREAKING MUCH! His voice was just not suited for Javert. Not at all. Most of his songs were terrible. Also, it appears that he cannot act and sing at the same time. Which is a problem. On the bright side, he didn't completely mess up "Confrontation" (my favorite song from the show). Hey Russell, take a cue from and NPH and put a little feeling into the role.
One of the great things about the movie versa the show is that in the movie the actors were allowed to make the songs more "realistic" and less "pretty". Definitely brought more emotion into the story as a whole (EXCEPT FOR RUSSELL CROWE DAMN IT). The thing was visually stunning also. Lots of interesting shots and camera angles. Not to mention the pretty typography whenever they had a time change.
Overall, if you enjoy musical theatre and Les Mis in general... GO SEE IT! TOTALLY WORTH IT! If thought the movie was about the French Revolution and some whores, well... then you might wanna skip it. My dad saw it was us and he HATED IT... SO MUCH. He had no idea what was going on, or what the point of it was. He may forgive us eventually for making him go ;)
In the meantime I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week. I'll be spending tomorrow in a car, going on a road trip to see some family and a few cripples! I should be able to post while I'm away.
Crippie's Tippie - If you don't like musicals... don't see Les Mis... YOU WILL HATE IT
I've been wanting to see it because we loved the Broadway version. But 3 hours of sitting - don't know I can handle that. Might have to wait for TV or a Video.
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