The Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket - Round One, Day Thirteen

Who am I?

I am sure you have been waiting on tenterhooks, with bated breath, and other impatience-derived comparisons to find out what my all-time favorite Broadway musical is. Well, friends, today, in the set of matchups in the first round of the Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket, you shall find out the answer! In fact, let’s get into it so I can reveal that information to you all!

(2) An American in Paris vs. (63) Les Misérables: Les Misérables is my all-time favorite Broadway musical. I have been listening to the original cast recording since I was a kid. (With hindsight, I can honestly say I don’t get why my parents let me listen to the two-disc recording but not let me watch things like The Simpsons. This is a great musical, but not kid-friendly!) I have seen multiple productions of the show on stage, including once in the late 1990s in Toronto as Colm Wilkinson returned to the stage to play Jean Valjean. I love, love, love, love this show.

And I hate, hate, hate, hate the Tom Hooper film. I have no issue with Anne Hathaway winning the Oscar, nor with the notion of an unbroken take of Fantine singing “I Dreamed a Dream”. It’s one of the few creative choices Hooper makes that works. You know what doesn’t work? Russell Crowe as Javert, given one of the greatest songs in Broadway history (“Stars”) and ruining it. I hate this movie. I hate it so much. I hate it more than Cats.

So…y’know. Vote for Gene Kelly.

An American in Paris

Les Misérables

(31) Ray vs. (34) Walk the Line: Nostalgia is a powerful thing, which is why I’m voting for Ray. In all honesty, I have not seen either of these films since I watched them in theaters. They were both…y’know, fine! But Ray is the movie I saw with my wife on our first date, in the fall of 2004. So I’m voting for Ray. Because nostalgia. It’s powerful.

Ray

Walk the Line

(15) A Star is Born (1954) vs. (50) The Last Five Years: Conceptually, The Last Five Years is clever — both halves of a romantic coupling over the course of five years running in opposite chronological order, with songs detailing the rise and fall of said coupling. And I like Anna Kendrick well enough. But all the film is, to me, is its clever conceit and not much else. A Star is Born is not a perfect film, but it’s got more charm to me and more energy. So vote once more for Judy, says I.

A Star is Born (1954)

The Last Five Years

(18) The Muppets vs. (47) The King and I: I have a limit on how long I’ll support the 2011 Muppets in this bracket, but even against the very charismatic Yul Brynner, I will vote for the rehash of Kermit and friends. (Brynner is charming, but the film surrounding him is less so.)

How do you vote?

The Muppets

The King and I