{Les Mis The Movie - Or Not...}

I LOVE Les Mis...The broadway show!  I first saw it 25 years ago in San Francisco on the very first U.S. tour and it was literally LOVE - LOVE LOVE LOVE!  I bought the soundtrack and sang it daily for a year.  I love the story, I love the voices of the Original Broadway cast, I love the music - It is
FAN-Tab-Ulous - which is why it has been around for so long.

A couple months ago we got tickets and saw it on stage once again in Boise - Not quite as fabulous as San Francisco and the original cast but still, oh so lovely, and still remains a favorite of mine.

Tonight our family went and saw the movie version which came out yesterday with Hugh Jackman and Ann Hathaway.  It was OK for me - I give it 3 1/2 out of 5.  There were things I really liked about this movie version but there were many things I did not like as well.

I think if you are someone who has never seen the show on stage you will probably really like this movie version.  But for me not so much because I have seen the real thing and loved it and these voices do not match the immense voices of the Broadway Stage and the New York or London casts.

So here are the things I liked:

-Hugh Jackman - He was terrific as Jean Valjean, and he has an awesome voice - but he is stage trained so he was a natural and he delivered!  Also, his makeup was awesome going from slave to respectable citizen/mayor.

-Young Cosette - Wow she is a talent.  She can sing and act and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.

-Marius - He was Fab! And, as a bonus, I thought he looked like Joseph Smith - LOL.

-The older Eponine - Loved her voice and performance.  I wish she would have played Fantine!

-I loved seeing everything big on the screen.  With any Broadway show that you love you are wishing for more detail and a movie definately fills that in.  It is not easy to re-create 1800's France - they did a great job, especially with the details (the sewer almost made me barf). 

-Going hand in hand with that was the AMAZING cinematography.  I loved how they filmed it.  The close up shots, the pans, Javert walking along the roof ledge of the building(s) - it was a fantastic job - the cinemetographers should win awards!

-I thought the supporting cast was super good.

-I love that so many people are seeing Les Mis for the first time and being exposed to, and loving this amazing story!  Many of these people might never have seen it in their lifetime if the movie wasn't made and that is a good thing!

What I did not like:

-Did NOT love Anne Hathaway's voice, but I already knew that from the clips I saw before the movie was released.  She cannot belt it the way it needs to be belted - I didn't believe her (songs/emotion) so that was a huge dislike for me.  I was glad she was playing Fantine and died (is that harsh) so I didn't have to listen to her anymore.  The star power here was not worth it to me.  I could not see Fantine with Anne playing it - I could only see the actress she is and other parts she played. 

-Russell Crowe - Good actor but not in this movie - he had NO passion. Looks the part of a soldier - SUCKS at singing.  The whole movie I just kept wondering why he was hired for this movie - surely there could have been someone...anyone, better.

-Amanda Seigfried - KILL ME NOW!!  I'm sorry, when she opened her mouth it sounded like a high pitched Snow White and I couldn't take it, it had me cringing Every.Single.Time.  It is a good thing the guy playing Marius had such a strong and great voice or I might have just went out to the bathroom during their scenes. 

Overall the star power did not work for me.  There are 4 huge parts and 3 did not fill the bill in my eyes.  Which is a shame because the rest of the film was great.

Other:

-The Thenardier's - Sacha Baren Cohen and Helena Bohnam Carter - They could not sing worth a twit (speaking most of their songs and relying on the supporting cast) but they were stinkin' hilarious and I loved the make-up so I kind of had a love/hate relationship with them, but overall decided they were a good choice.

I actually don't feel like I want to see this movie again.  I'm glad I saw it once.  It was OK, but I'm going to stick with my Broadway CD.