Review of Kiss Me Kate (1953) by Clayton W — 26 Apr 2010

(Note: "Kiss Me, Kate" constitutes the My Favorite Movies and Musicals categories. "Take the Lead" falls into Mediocre. I want no confusion.).

Ah, sweet musical bliss! Cole Porter is redeemed in my eyes (I'm not a big fan of "Anything Goes"). "West Side Story" must share its Shakespearean musical crown. What a movie!

"Kiss Me, Kate" is a musical retelling of Shakespeare's [u]The Taming of the Shrew[/u], and it is done in a way that is very appropriate to the play. Just as the play is a play within a play (Christopher Sly and all that), "Kiss Me, Kate" is a musical in a musical-we see the characters offstage and on, and there are songs incorporated into both parts. It plays wonderfully, seeing the actors not only portray their characters, but the characters their characters are portraying, as well. It's also cool to see how the songs work with this, as certain songs pertain simply to the musical being put on while others sung offstage reflect the characters' feelings and motives.

Howard Keel is the lead, playing Fred Graham and Petruchio, and he is one of the best male leads I've seen in a musical, right up there with Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady." He handles everything his part demands very well, and Kathryn Grayson (though not his match vocally) plays a perfect foil for him, both as his ex-wife and as the titular Shrew (Kate). I also greatly enjoyed Ann Miller, who had a few of my favorite songs, and Tommy Rall, who looks a bit like Jim Carrey (very weird).

Now, as I always must with the musicals-the songs. "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" is sure to please fans of the Bard-some really clever rhymes using names of his famous plays. "Too Darn Hot" is one of the numerous entertaining dance numbers (this musical boasts the best dance scenes of any I've seen). Also of special note are "Where Is the Life That Late I Led?", "Always True to You in My Fashion," and "Why Can't You Behave" (another great dance number featuring Rall).

Overall, a very entertaining movie that fits in with "Chicago," "Rent," and "The Pajama Game" as being a musical that is jam-packed with songs, which is always very agreeable to me.

On another, much less enthusiastic note, I saw "Take the Lead" last night. Not very impressed-a fine movie and all, and Banderas does a nice job in the lead, but there's no reason to see this over the awesome documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom." However, I was glad to be introduced to the tragically-named Yaya DaCosta...