Misérables No More. Les Joking.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 6:25PM You know a depressing drama has achieved deep market penetration when no one can stop joking about it. Is this a communal embarrassment from making ugly cry faces in the movie theater (don't worry, no one can see you.)? Whatever it is, Les Misérables has now joined Brokeback Mountain and Titanic and _____ in the small club of deeply sad dramas that everyone loves to make jokes about.
Have you seen "Les Mean Girls"? The tumblr mashes the musical up with Tina Fey's classic comedy, Amanda Seyfried being the key to all things (no seriously. she's everywhere).
But my favorite current Les Misérables joke is this expert repurposing of the big "I Dreamed a Dream" showstopper as Living FYC Satire. I totally love this even though I think Anne Hathaway is everything in the movie and totally deserves the Oscar.
Reader Comments (63)
Oh, Billy you´re so sweet. Thank you for this wonderful, respectful, wise conversation and everything I´ve learned from it.
For haunting examples of peerless acting through song, I offer Julie Andrews at the opening of Darling Lili. Her delicate features are softly shadowed with the emotions conjured in Whistling In the Dark. Ms. Andrews also astounds us in Victor/Victoria with the song Crazy World, delivered with wry subtlety and sadness. This is great acting in the film musical genre.
brookesboy -- Julie is SO underrated in Victor/Victoria because she had that effortless way about her onscreen. It doesn't mean she wasn't working her ass off but hte effortless performers are less likely to be appreciated for their craft. Julie had the disadvantange that year of being the mix with textbook examples of modern complicated and very showy acting (Streep in Sophies, and Jessica in Frances) but what she was going for was obviously much more in the old school traditional of star acting. She's just great in that movie.
Nathaniel - you made a point on twitter about Sally Field winning 2 Oscars and how that drove the perception of being overpraised that tarnished her legacy. I fear the same might happen to Anne after her win. Deserved or not, the perception everywhere is that she really wants it bad and has been campaigning hard and is overexposed. That might not help perceptions of her after the win.
I like Hathaway as an actress but think her public persona is grating.
And I just love this comment thread and how everyone respects everyone else's opinion. I've always thought that the Film Experience is a safe haven for Oscar lovers away from the rhetoric out there.
Nathan, I love VV as well. I always get teary-eyed at the beginning where a despairing Julie is overcome with hunger and she's looking into the restaurant. You're so right about her effortlessness. She is so underrated as an actress. She should have been nommed for Star! and Duet For One. That Best Actress lineup of 82 is one of the best of all time and Julie really held her own with those women. I loved Winger, but I would have switched her out for Diane Keaton in Shoot the Moon. My choice for the Oscar would be Jessica (I know, heresy for Streep lovers! LOL), but Julie's nomination for VV is a personal fave of mine. Sigh.
Oh Nathan, I forgot to add, I smile a bit thinking of how Anne might have picked up some of Julie's formidable musical talent through sheer osmosis on the set of The Princess Diaries. It's kinda fun thinking of that serendipitous possibility.
About this whole discussion:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/30/inside-the-anne-hathaway-les-miserables-video-spoof-that-went-viral.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/18/the-cult-of-hathahaters-will-it-hurt-anne-hathaway-s-oscar-chances.html?obref=obinsite
YES!!! Julie Andrews in Darling Lili (and a whole bunch of other things too). Thank you brookesboy! I also remember admiring the way Andrews puts so much into the "These Are A Few of My Favorite Things" in Sound of Music. She conveys so much about Maria's personality and her feelings toward the children while singing such a happy-go-lucky song. And Nathaniel - I love you acknowledging her effortlessness. I think that is something both Garland and Andrews shared (not so much Streisand - at least in her big dramatic numbers). Garland and Andrews can convey thoughts and emotions while singing in such an easy natural way. But it's true - the more we talk about the opportunities other actresses have had on film, the more I appreciate the very difficult challenge Hathaway faced. Do that song in such closeup on camera...well....it still didn't work for me as well as I wish it had but, damn, that was a very tough challenge for an actress and she sure didn't shy away. I agree murtada - right now Hathaway's public personna is making me squirm.
Nathaniel R
You could probably write a book about this production of Les Mis using only the commentary from this thread.
BillyBil and I seem to have reached some sort of understanding. He admits the magnificent acting job but misses the purity of the music. While I maintain that lack of purity is what makes this a great musical interpretation as well as an acting tour de force.
If you put a man in freezing weather, in thin robes, and wooden shoes then tell him to sing, the chances are his voice will crack. Age him over 20 years and put him on a barricade at the limits of his strength in a state of fear of him lifelong enemy in the company of a man he hates but knows will take his beloved daughter so must be saved and tell him to sing a prayer for that man's survival ... his voice will probably crack on the falsetto. Then give him a final confession with hope of salvation with the relief that his child is safe and not make it sound cheesy. 40 years of a man's life in one vocal performance and every second of it believable.
Damn! Jackman deserves that Oscar but DDL will get it for a lesser role because he makes one really good movie every five years and he just had to pick this year for Lincoln.
billybil, Darling Lili is a forgotten classic...I just adore it! When Julie sings No Man's Land, I get goosebumps. And that opening where you just see her face floating in the darkness! One of the best first shots of a movie ever.
Julie is one of the chosen few who have mastered the art of musical acting. Darling Lili also shows her at her most playful and sexy. Her amorous parlance with Rock Hudson rivals Dunne and Grant. The shower scene is quite memorable. Ahhh, now I want to rush home and watch my DVD. LOL
Ah...but this is the MOVIES, my friend, where I want ALL that you describe from Jackman AS WELL AS beautiful, soaring, lyrical, effortless singing. And yes - PLEASE - make that unbelievable vocal beauty believable - that's what I want my movie stars to accomplish. Please don't crack and strain the whole time you're singing in a high register so that I am ultimately distracted by your sound but let your emotions affect your exquisite singing in ways that transport me into a higher level of "truth". That's what I expect from movies - especially movie musicals.
I tried to remain quiet and let your generous acknowledgment that we had come to an understanding be the last words on our exchange but what I wrote here does seem to capture what I've really been trying to say. LES MIS is a brave, audacious, intensely produced film full of moments of true artistry and some truly excellent performances but I wanted "my" LES MIS experience to be even more.
If there is one upset I would like to see on Oscar night, it would be Hugh Jackman over DDL. I love DDL, but I don't think Hugh will get another chance...this is THE role for him. It's a pity he won't get an Oscar for it. I want him to win the EGOT, he's already halfway there.
Anne Hathaway is a lock. She's better than Weaver and Adams, at least. I though both Field and Hunt gave better performances, but they're previous Oscar winners, and I don't think the Academy will give Sally a 3rd or Helen a 2nd Oscar.
Jackman is a truly a great actor and at some point another Oscar worthy role will come along, but this one is (1) so perfectly attuned to his talents and (2) easily the best single performance of the year even better than DDL and Phoenix if only for the effort required to bring it to the screen.
DDL makes one excellent film about every five years. Unfortunately, he picked 2012 for this one and everyone goes ga ga because it is Day-Lewis. There is no denying he is a great actor, but this year there actually is a better performance.