The New Era of Movie Musials

Musicals are more commonly associated with Broadway than Hollywood, but some of the most successful movies have been musicals. "The Sound of Music" and "Grease" are two of the most beloved movies of all times, but musicals aren't left in decades past. Movie musicals chttp://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcvw6rms_215hsqvxw84&btr=EmailImportontinue to be made, and they find huge audiences. However, they now are lacking in some of the stricter rules of movie musicals in the past. In the new era of musicals, anything goes.

"Mamma Mia" broke records with its Abba-inspired soundtrack. The musical itself was first a hit on stage, then it was adapted for the big screen. It starred Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Amanda Seyfried. The plot of the film centered around a young girl who wanted to invite her father to her wedding. Yet, when she read her mother's diary, she discovered that her father could have been one of three different men. Hilarity ensues following suspicious wedding invites. The musical takes a fun, light-hearted approach to an outrageous plot. It uses Abba music as the songs for the musical, creating a first-of-its-kind approach to the movie musical. It just simply works. The most fun part just may be the ending.

A now modern classic musical is "Grease." It broke rules and records. Although it's often enjoyed by children, the lyrics of some of the songs itself have a very adult theme, especially the ever popular "Greased Lightning," which described how Danny Zuko (portrayed by Oscar-nominated actor John Travolta) was going to use his car to get women. It described it in rather graphic detail, though. Good girl Sandy (portrayed by musical legend Olivia Newton-John) even got a bit wild at the end, stomping out a cigarette as she revealed her new bad girl look. It's all music movie fun, and children watching it can easily overlook the things included for adults. It was definitely a movie ahead of its time, though, and new generations are constantly discovering the movie.

The musical "Nine" was released in very late 2009, and it starred many talents, such as Nicole Kidman. Nicole Kidman previously starred in the unconventional musical "Moulin Rouge," another one that changed the face of the movie musical. It was not based on a Broadway show, one of the only movie musicals to be original to the screen. It featured renditions of pop songs. Nicole sang a blend of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe.

The face of the modern movie musical lies in the imaginations of its creators. There are no limits to movie musicals. They can't be comedic or dramatic, romantic or frightening. There is room for all types of musicals in the current show business climate.

Sources cited:

http://www.cnn.com
http://www.imdb.com