damian-fuller "Hey big spender" That's all I knew about Sweet Charity. A musical version of Federico Fellini's masterpiece "The Nights Of Cabiria" - I didn't think of Cabiria when I saw Charity on the screen. Shirley MacLaine's recreates and reinvents Giulietta Masina's Cabiria. That is something that very rarely works. But here in Bob Fosse's version, Cabiria has a new life, an American life, a song and dance life but just as sad. Sad but not hopeless. There is the spirit of Cabiria/Charity that will survive. Shirley MacLaine is magnificent. She manages to project that innocence that makes everything not just palatable but delicious.
HotToastyRag In Sweet Charity, Shirley MacLaine plays Charity, the original hooker with a heart of gold. Well, that's not entirely true; Sweet Charity is a remake of the Italian film The Nights of Cabiria, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 1957. In any case, the hooker with a heart of gold archetype is embodied by the protagonist in this story.While the Italian film is depressing beyond belief—Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the movie and have seen it many times—the musical is slightly different. There are many dramatic, depressing musicals, and this isn't one of them. It's fun and colorful with uplifting songs, a lighter title, and a generally sunny disposition. I won't spoil anything, but if you're looking for a downer, try Oliver instead.Shirley MacLaine is darling! I know, it seems like I'm always talking about how cute she is, but she is particularly adorable and charming as Charity. Shirley got her start as a dancer, and in this movie, she's able to really show off her skills (and her legs). It's a Bob Fosse musical, so if you've never seen his choreography before, prepare yourself for a very different type of dancing. Dancers will stand perfectly still for several beats, breaking the stillness by a single shoulder shrug or finger flick. It's a very controlled, intense, stylized kind of dancing, one that uses a Hollywood camera to its advantage. The dance numbers are beautifully directed and framed in each shot. Usually, you'll either love Bob Fosse or hate him, so it might be a determining factor in your enjoyment of the film.It's difficult to pull off the heart of gold hooker role convincingly. In my opinion, Giulietta Masina conveys the "seedy hooker" aspect of the character a little better in the original version, but it's also a darker, sadder film, so that makes sense. In Sweet Charity, Shirley MacLaine chews gum and sports a heart tattoo on her shoulder, but that's about it. Still, she nails the hopeful, utter faith in human nature aspect, which delights audiences and draws them into her story.When I first watched the movie, I wasn't really too impressed with the songs. Now that I'm older and have written three musicals myself, I actually like Cy Coleman's and Dorothy Fields' creations better. For me, part of what makes an effective musical song is if the melody conveys the words of the song, even if the words are hidden. In "Big Spender", the famous song all the streetwalkers sing to a potential customer, the melody captures the boredom they feel, as well as the frustration simmering underneath. You can really feel it's a song that's been sung a hundred times a night. In "If They Could See Me Now", another famous song that Shirley MacLaine sings with a top hat and cane, it actually sounds like it's being sung on her tiptoes, while she's excited and afraid if she shouts it'll echo off the walls. And finally, one of my favorites, "There's Gotta be Something Better Than This": you can truly feel the frustration boiling over as the girls finally declare they've had enough of their terrible lives. To see what I mean, watch the YouTube clip of the song, and if you like it, rent the movie!
evening1 This film captures poignancies -- the ineffable yearnings of a woman who has been burned in love, the challenges of escaping one's past, the energy and grandeur of New York City, the sadness and waste of conventional thinking.Shirley MacLaine coruscates as a woman with a past. (Is there a female alive who has not experienced Charity's manic elation over a man who is not available?) Also wonderful in their roles are Ricardo Montalban as a suave romantic and John McMartin as the first regular guy Charity ever dates.The song and dance numbers in this film are infectious and mesmerizing. My 12-year-old son started watching out of the corner of his eye, taking breaks from a video game, and got hooked. (Tells you something, doesn't it?) I loved every one of these extravagant interludes, but none could sur the new-age church scene featuring Sammy Davis Jr. as Big Daddy.Forty years ago as a high-school junior I was part of the chorus in a community production of "Sweet Charity. What a pleasure it was to have the music and lyrics flowing back into my consciousness.This is one exquisite film.CODA: -- "I was going to be an assistant dental technician."-- "That doesn't sound very impressive." -- "It does to a dance-hall hostess!"
jjnxn-1 Shirley is endearing as the title character, a sweet overly hopeful hard luck dame not overly burdened with brains. Several of the songs-Where Am I Going?, Hey Big Spender, If They Could See Me Now, are excellent but the film is an overblown terribly dated dinosaur. The kind of out of touch production that killed the musical by the end of the sixties. A gargantuan flop upon its initial release costing 20 million and taking in only 8, it's easy to see why peppered throughout as it is with techniques, photos that stop the action dead, freeze frames in numbers, that were outdated even then. There are glimmers of Fosse's genius scattered here and there but he has done better work elsewhere. One of the very rare chances to see Chita Rivera on screen, for that alone it's worth sitting through once but it really a mediocre effort.
