Movie Talk: Favorite Movie Musicals

I’ve been on a bit of a musical kick lately. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Rent came through the Hippodrome… so of course I’ve been randomly breaking into song about going oooouuuuut tonight and scaring Ollie with my version of Angel’s pickle jug drum solo. I also have the soundtrack to West Side Story loaded on my phone, so that I can sing along aggressively when I’m stuck in traffic.

And I get stuck in a lot of traffic.

I figured now is the perfect time for me to share some of my favorite musical movies!

Rent
Yes, I know the movie isn’t as good as the Broadway show… but the movie has a bunch of the original Broadway stars in their roles, like Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel. I’d basically watch those three sing the colors off of paint chips and be happy about it.

West Side Story
The music to West Side Story is basically magical and the stars are as beautiful as they possibly can be. I used to rent this video from Blockbuster time and time again when I needed my “America” fix and now I can just plug my iPhone into my truck and sing along at the top of my lungs.

Grease
Okay, I admit that this one is a bit corny, but it’s totally a classic. I know that everyone loved Olivia Newton-John but I was totally obsessed with bad girl Stockard Channing. I can also rock the heck out of “There are Worse things I could do” in the shower. Just saying.

Moulin Rouge
Oh my gosh, Nicole Kidman is perfection. And Ewan McGregor is perfection. And the song and dance numbers are AMAZING. And the costumes basically turn my face into the ‘heart eyes’ emoticon. And now I need to go watch this movie again.

The Last Five Years
This one is pretty new to me and the moment I started watching I couldn’t look away. This tells the story of novelist Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) and his actress wife (Anna Kendrick) though song. However, her story starts with the end of their relationships and goes backwards, while his goes from the beginning of the relationship to the end. It meets in the middle with Jamie’s marriage proposal. It sounds weird, but Anna Kendrick is absolutely fantastic in it and she broke my heart within the first 4 minutes of the movie.

 

Okay, now your turn! Do you have a favorite movie musical?

 

Disclaimer: I am a member of Netflix’s DVD.com Director’s program, which gives me free access to movies. If you sign up with my referral link, I may receive a referral reward. All images are courtesy of Netflix.com and the producing companies.

 

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5 thoughts on “Movie Talk: Favorite Movie Musicals”

  1. Girl. You know I have opinions.

    You can’t have been in high school/college during the era of RENT and not list it here!

    L5Y is one of my favorites. The music is so good and the story is told in such a unique way.

    Hairspray is fun for Baltimore nostalgia.

    Singin’ in the Rain is CLASSIC

    The one I could watch over and over again and never get bored is probably Bye Bye Birdie. I could watch the 1960s movie (Dick Van Dyke and Ann-Margaret!) AND the 1990s made for tv version (Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams!) – it’s about to be a LIVE tv Production with J-Lo.

    I also love the classic 60s Gypsy and the made-for-tv 90s Gypsy (and I hear they’re remaking it again soon too)

  2. Also cheesy, but I love Disney’s Newsies. It came out when I was 10 and I was hooked. Still haven’t seen a live version though.

  3. I am going to add the Last 5 Years, sounds a bit like the new series, This Is Us, which I love.

    I would have to add My Fair Lady…”the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains.” And, Evita, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”

    No, 80s girl list would leave off, “Footloose!”

  4. Currently I love Hello Dolly.

    We’ve also been listening to Music Man & You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown a lot in the car. If the kids are singing, they’re not bickering. I have got trouble with a capital T!

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