The Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket - Round One, Day Fifteen

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, everyone.

We’re so close to the end of the first round of the Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket that I can smell it. I can taste it! I can also taste the presence of autumn, but that’s a different story.

Who’s ready for some votes? Let’s dive in!

(3) Meet Me in St. Louis vs. (62) Everyone Says I Love You: I don’t quite love Meet Me in St. Louis the way some die-hard musical fans do. But it is a hell of a lot better than Woody Allen’s 1996 film, which may be noble for having non-singers try to sing but…that’s not enough to get my vote.

What do you think?

Meet Me in St. Louis

Everyone Says I Love You

(30) Hello, Dolly! vs. (35) Kiss Me Kate: I realize that Hello, Dolly! has the benefit, as you can see below, of having a song that re-appeared in popular culture courtesy of the 2008 Pixar classic WALL-E. But you know what Kiss Me Kate has? One of the great dance sequences in MGM history. I’ve added the clip below from “From This Moment On”, which features an extended bit of dancing choreographed and performed by none other than Bob Fosse. And this is Fosse pre-Cabaret or even his first stage credit as a choreographer, The Pajama Game. And the best part? It looks exactly like you would expect. It’s brilliant.

I’m voting for Kiss Me Kate. How about you?

Hello, Dolly!

Kiss Me Kate

(14) New York, New York vs. (51) Fame: I get that some people see New York, New York as a rare misstep for Martin Scorsese, but as much as I may respect those people and their opinion, they are wrong. (Or I just disagree with them. One of those!) New York, New York is a thorny, feisty blend of old-fashioned musical and Scorsese’s edgier and modern sensibility. It’s not his best, but I think it’s a lot better than people give it credit for.

Vote for the master.

New York, New York

Fame

(19) The Young Girls of Rochefort vs. (46) Evita: I cannot tell a lie: I think the 1996 film adaptation of Evita is pretty damn great. Antonio Banderas makes a very effective Che, Madonna is well suited for the role of Eva Peron (because she’s able to emote primarily through song instead of dialogue), and Alan Parker captures the various musical sequences well through a blend of realism and magical fantasy. Good movie, folks.

I vote for the woman who asked Argentina not to cry for her. What about you?

The Young Girls of Rochefort

Evita