Les Misérables

OK, I figured I wanted to throw in my two cents [and then some]
about the new movie based on the much loved musical,
Les Misérables.

Let me start off by saying that I have actually read the book
by Victor Hugo, that the musical is based on.

I was 21 when I read it, so it has been a little while.
[And yes, I'll admit that I basically skimmed through the
countless pages all about the Paris sewer system.]

And as a teenager I listened to both the London & Broadway Cast recordings.
[Although I listened to the Broadway cast more, mainly because I had it
on CD and the London cast on cassette.]

And when the 10th Anniversary came around, I watched it a bunch of times
and of course, added the CD to my collection.

I have many fond memories of listening to Les Miz songs
with my cousins and brothers and performing lip syncs to them.
[Or actually sing them, for those brave enough to do so!]

My brother Todd and cousin Kenny performing The Confrontation.

Bring Him Home

Good times, good times!

And yes, I have seen the 1998 movie version.
[I saw it in when it first came out and have it on DVD.]
I enjoyed it and thought the roles were well cast.

However, I've only seen the 25th Anniversary concert once.
[But would watch it again, when and if I get the chance.]

And after all that, you'd think I've seen the musical a number of times.
But you'd be wrong! I've never seen an actual live performance of it.
SHOCKING, I KNOW!!!
And it was even playing on Broadway when I went to New York in 2007!
[Don't know how I managed to miss out on that opportunity!]

So, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I was quite excited
when it was announced that the musical version
was finally being made into a movie.

And even more excited when it was announced who would be
Jean Valjean.

I LOVE me some Hugh Jackman!

I was lucky enough to catch him in action when he had some
live performance shows in San Francisco in May 2011.

What an AMAZING performer! What an AMAZING show!

So there was no doubt in my mind that Hugh would make
a fantastic Valjean. And he definitely did not disappoint!
I felt he really put his heart and soul into his performance.
I especially loved his performance when he sang Suddenly,
the one and only new song written for this movie.
It was such a sweet and tender moment.

The hair and make-up people deserve the Oscar
for making this attractive hunk of a man...less attractive.
[Especially at the beginning and end of the movie.]

I also knew that Anne Hathaway would make a wonderful Fantine.

And not just from watching the previews of the movie with her
singing I Dreamed A Dream. [Which always got me all teary-eyed.]

While many doubted her singing abilities, I knew she would do just fine,
because she proved she had pipes in Ella Enchanted.

And if she was willing to butcher her flowing locks of hair
for this role, I figured there was no way she wouldn't put
everything she had into her performance.

 Russell Crowe on the other hand, I had some mixed feelings about.
[And I know many others have expressed their own doubts, as well.]

I mean, he was in a band called 30 Odd Foot of Grunts,
so I knew he could sing...
but just wasn't sure what kind of singing voice he possessed.
I figured he more than likely did not possess the strong, powerful baritone
that I was accustomed to hearing from others who have portrayed Javert.
So I tried to keep an open mind and tried not to compare.

His singing voice took some getting used to, but in the end, I grew to like it.

I had no doubts about the acting between him and Hugh Jackman, however.
I thought they both did a fantastic job and played off each other well.

::Slight Spoiler Alert::


It's common knowledge that Javert commits suicide by throwing himself
into the Seine River, but they managed to work a dramatic twist into his death.
[The only part more disturbing than that, was Valjean's journey with Marius
through the Paris sewers. EWWW!!!]

I was also uncertain about the performances of
Helena Bonham-Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers.
I mean, these characters are already over-the-top and I was afraid
they might take it too far! But they held back and provided
just the right amount of comic relief.

I usually skipped over any of the Thénardiers songs, when I listened
to the soundtracks. I just didn't really care for them that much, as well
as the language used during their songs. So I was a bit surprised to have
Master of the House stuck in my head the other day!

I thought that they did a wonderful job casting the roles
of Gavroche and young Cosette.
They both looked and sounded their parts.

As for the casting of the Friends of the ABC....

I must say I was surprised how rather plain looking they were.
I figured with this being a big Hollywood movie, that there
would be some nice eye candy to gaze upon.

Aaron Tveit as Enjolras was definitely the prettiest of the bunch
and had the best voice, too, in my opinion.
Made me wonder why he wasn't chosen to play Marius.

Which brings me to my biggest disappointment...

Seriously?
If you were Cosette would it be love at first sight
when you walked past him?
[Especially if Enjolras is right by him?]
Sorry, but that would be a big NO from me.

I just think there are hundreds of actor/singers out there
who would've been much better suited for the role of Marius.
[In both appearance and vocal talent.]

Actually, when watching the movie I thought his voice was okay,
but as I listened to the soundtrack a few times, his voice sounded weird to me.
I couldn't put my finger on it, until I saw a few others compare him to...

Kermit the Frog!

Éponine was well portrayed by Samantha Barks,
who had previously played the character,
including in the 25th Anniversary performance.
[Which I'm sure gave her an edge over any others
in contention for the role.]
A role which easily could've been given to any
Hollywood starlet or Pop/Country singer.

The one thing I noticed though was that the songs Éponine performed,
didn't really sound much different than past versions of the songs.
For example, On My Own. While she did a lovely rendition of that song,
she missed out on the opportunity to make it her own and have it
really stand out, the way Anne Hathaway did with I Dreamed A Dream.

Her extremely abnormal teeny-tiny waist was rather distracting.
I mean seriously! Look at it!

Amanda Seyfried looked the part of the older Cosette.
I thought she had a pleasant enough singing voice,
hitting the high notes better than I expected.
But just as the case with her true love Marius,
when listening to the soundtrack, I noticed her voice
at times sounded a bit like...

a bleating lamb.


I also noticed while watching the movie that it seemed like
quite a few of the musical numbers were shortened or
the lyrics were different than what I was used to.
After seeing the movie, I bought the MP3 version of the Highlights album.
[For only $5.00, thanks Amazon!]
The album included a couple songs I didn't really consider to be highlights,
like The Final Battle and sadly missed some true highlights,
like Do You Hear The People Sing?
As I compared the length of the songs from the movie to their
Broadway counterparts, many were a minute or two shorter.
Why?!?

I'm realizing this all sounds like I didn't like the movie, but I really did enjoy it!
[And I want to see it again.]

I thought the cinematography was excellent.
The sets and costumes still had that musical theatre feel to them.

But the biggest difference between this movie and seeing a live performance
was that you could see the faces and expressions of all the characters.
[Which in the case of Marius and his many freckles,
was not necessarily such a great thing!]
I mean, unless you're in the first 10 or so rows of the theatre,
you really miss out on that part of the actors' performances.
I felt it added to the drama and emotion of the piece.

The biggest surprise for me however was the casting of the Bishop.
[I'm sure I must have read about it at one point in time, but completely forgot.]

When he first appeared on the screen, I let out a gasp of surprise!
[And yeah, I'll admit got a bit teary-eyed.]

It's Colm Wilkinson!!!

For those of you who don't know, he is the Jean Valjean!
He performed as Valjean in both the London and Broadway casts,
as well as for the 10th Anniversary Concert.

So it was pretty cool to see him bestow his blessing, so to speak,
as the man who gives Valjean the opportunity for a new and better life
and to greet him as he leaves this world, as well.

I ended up not needing tissues as much as I thought I would.
Apparently at least one person in the audience needed lots of tissues,
but when they blew their nose, it sounded more like a fart! Eww!

However, I did end up needing a couple tissues during the finale.
And while the movie is over 2 1/2 hours long, once it was nearing the end,
I wasn't ready for it to end...I wanted more. [An encore, at least!]

So yes, while the movie had some minor flaws,
the good definitely outweighed the not-so-good.
But the story remains the same and in the end that's what matters most.