The Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket - Round One, Day Six

Wrong kid died!

Sometimes, timing just works out. Here’s what I mean in relation to today’s set of matchups in the first round of the Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket. It’s true that we’re likely going to have one painful battle (at least, if my guess is correct), but it’s also true that we are going to be discussing some truly great musicals today. Not always planned in advance to have so many solid films up for the vote and/or chopping block, at least in the sprawling first round. But that’s just how it worked today.

You ready? Let’s go!

(7) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story vs. (58) Guys and Dolls: Guys and Dolls is, as a stage show, one of my favorite Broadway musicals. But the movie version from 1955, in spite of featuring some heavy hitters, is a rough and awkward sit. And Walk Hard is one of the best films out of the Judd Apatow style of comedy filmmaking, and one of the best comedies of all time with some bangers (slappers? What do kids say now?) among the soundtrack. Vote for Dewey.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Guys and Dolls

(26) Enchanted vs. (39) Hairspray: You know, 2007 was a very good year for movie musicals. It concluded with the aforementioned Walk Hard, but also featured these two James Marsden movies. (OK, they’re not his movies, but he is in both of them!) This is the matchup I imagine could be a little challenging, because both of these movies are very enjoyable at what they’re trying to do. But if you know me well enough, you know I will be voting for Enchanted, a film that should have netted Amy Adams her first of many Academy Awards. Giselle gets my vote.

How about you?

Enchanted

Hairspray

(10) West Side Story (1961) vs. (55) The Wiz: I admire the fact that Sidney Lumet directed a musical (and that this was the musical he directed), but The Wiz cannot hold up as a film to the 1961 version of West Side Story. Two New York-set movies, two movies trying to bring in the vibe of the city at the time, and two very fantastical approaches. I could see this being close as well, but I’ll stick with the Jets and Sharks for now.

What do you think?

West Side Story (1961)

The Wiz

(23) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory vs. (42) The Greatest Showman: Over the summer, my 9-year old attended a local theater camp where, each week, his group would take certain themes and songs from specific films or shows, and turn them into marathon musicals at the end of the weekly session. One of those weeks, the theme was The Greatest Showman. This means I heard the Pasek/Paul songs from the 2017 film of the same name over and over and over and over and over that week.

Vote for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (A better film, and a better musical, in every possible way.)

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

The Greatest Showman