Sweeney Todd

[thescarletwoman]

So, here comes the unpopular opinion time.

I'm DREADING the release of Sweeney Todd this christmas. Absolutely dreading it.

I don't know when The Trailer was released, but I just saw it today. And I've been weeping since I saw it.

There's dialog. What there hell is dialog doing in Sweeney Todd? The musical is basically an opera, even if Sondheim refuses to apply the name to said show. He looks like, IMO, Edward Scissorhands, only without the scissors. HBC, while I loved her in HP... is no Mrs Lovett. Hell, I don't even care for Patti LuPone as Mrs Lovett to be perfectly honest.

The only good thing about this movie, to be honest, is Alan Rickman.

I lived with this musical for... over a year when I wrote my thesis. It's near and dear to my heart, not only as a pit musician but as a Sondheim fanatic.

It doesn't mean I don't love Johnny Depp. But seriously... he's not Sweeney.

Give me Len Cariou or George Hern ANY day.

And there's no Mrs Lovett but Angela Lansbury.

Comments

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

It definitely looks like Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd featuring songs by Stephen Sondheim rather than a film of the actual show. I suspect the thinking behind it is that your average viewing audience couldn't sit through 2 hours of an actual opera(etta) so they had to put in dialogue to explain things.

It sounds like Jack Sparrow AS Sweeney Todd, to be honest. And when you're Helena Bonham Carter AND the director's wife/girlfriend/paramour/whatever she is, you get to be Mrs. Lovett, no questions asked. *sigh*

The only thing I can say in defence is "At least Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd is still better than John Travolta as Edna Turnblad".

[thescarletwoman.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHA. *breath*

Okay, that is so what I'm calling this musical now. Because it IS so true.

When I re-listened to the trailer, I hear the Sparrow!Sweeney. I love Johnny Depp, don't get me wrong. But... there wasn't a better choice?

The only thing I can say in defence is "At least Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd is still better than John Travolta as Edna Turnblad".

There, though... I'll have to feign ignorance. I actually haven't seen Hairspray as it was a show I just... could never get into no matter how many times I've tried to listen to it.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

Hee -- at least it's mockable, right? And it is true! I know these things. ;-)

I totally heard Sparrow!Sweeney which I think may also be the same accent Johnny used in "From Hell" also. It's been a while since I've watched it. He's good at his Keith Richards faux cockney but...yeah. I'm guessing he got the role because it's a Tim Burton Film and he can sing (he was in a rock band before he became an actor) so it was kind of an easy casting decision but...yeah. He's no Len Cariou or George Hern. Not even close. But we're clearly musical theatre snobs!

I love Hairspray -- we invested in it (the Broadway show) based on the strength of just the workshop demo music and it was a good choice. But I'm also a child of the 60s so the music just was perfect and fun for me. I've seen it 4 times already (Broadway x 2, US Touring cast, Toronto) and will be seeing it again in London in 3 weeks. I've seen the trailer for the film and while everyone else looks pretty good, Travolta as Edna just squicks me out. He's awful. He's no Harvey Fierstein or even Bruce Villanch (who opened in the US tour) or the guy they had in Toronto (can't remember his name now). He's just creepy! Michael Ball is going to be in London so that should be an interesting experience! /Hairspray squeeing