I am not gay...
.. but I love "A Chorus Line". I mention this only because when I was teeming with excitement over having downloaded "A Chorus Line" from iTunes as a $0.99 rental, one of my gay co-workers described me as the "gayest straight man ever". Which under the circumstances, is totally understandable.
In the summer of 1986, I watched two movies endlessly on VHS. "The Breakfast Club", and "A Chorus Line". As a general rule, I loathe musicals. Wicked, Les Mizzzzzzz, Phantom, The Lion King, you name it, I hate it. There are two I actually enjoy. Besides A Chorus Line, I like Into the Woods. It occurs to me that the one thing these two shows have in common is that they are very "meta". They are stories that are self aware, and about their own medium. A Chorus Line is about a grueling dance audition, and Into The Woods is a deconstruction of fairy tales.
The movie was of course cheesier than I remember. But it still works, and there are many moving moments. The dancers each have their own stories, some of them sad, some of them funny. The best bit comes at the end (SPOILER) just before Zach (Michael Douglas) is going to make the final selection. While doing a simple tap routine Paul, who has just poured his heart out in a wrenching scene, blows his knee out. Though no one says it, they all look at each other with an understanding that he will never dance again. There is a amazing moment where Zach is about to descend back into the seats for the final selection, and looks over his shoulder to see all of the dancers staring at him. He looks at one of them, and says "What are you going to do when you stop dancing?". Out come a series of random confessions, and earnest dialogue. But it works so well. The whole movie has been leading up to this, and it is one of those scenes that I will remember forever.
Two things came back to me watching it as a grown up. 1) Oh the ladies... I still love Bebe Benton (Michelle Johnston). I loved Cassie (Alyson Reed) but see her as really awful at this age. Alyson is still acting, she was in one of the High School Musicals. Michelle went on to be a professional choreographer. And I could not find any pictures of her, which is good. I like to remember her as that fragile little thing, recovering from a nervous break down. 2) At the end, Zach calls out the names of 8 dancers. These people think they have been chosen. But then he excuses them, and we realize that those not called were chosen. It is a shock and a surprise, and seems like simple cruelty. To this day, I can't figure out his motivation.
What teenage boy from the 80s wouldn't have raging lust for Bebe?
Remember, I am not gay....
In the summer of 1986, I watched two movies endlessly on VHS. "The Breakfast Club", and "A Chorus Line". As a general rule, I loathe musicals. Wicked, Les Mizzzzzzz, Phantom, The Lion King, you name it, I hate it. There are two I actually enjoy. Besides A Chorus Line, I like Into the Woods. It occurs to me that the one thing these two shows have in common is that they are very "meta". They are stories that are self aware, and about their own medium. A Chorus Line is about a grueling dance audition, and Into The Woods is a deconstruction of fairy tales.
The movie was of course cheesier than I remember. But it still works, and there are many moving moments. The dancers each have their own stories, some of them sad, some of them funny. The best bit comes at the end (SPOILER) just before Zach (Michael Douglas) is going to make the final selection. While doing a simple tap routine Paul, who has just poured his heart out in a wrenching scene, blows his knee out. Though no one says it, they all look at each other with an understanding that he will never dance again. There is a amazing moment where Zach is about to descend back into the seats for the final selection, and looks over his shoulder to see all of the dancers staring at him. He looks at one of them, and says "What are you going to do when you stop dancing?". Out come a series of random confessions, and earnest dialogue. But it works so well. The whole movie has been leading up to this, and it is one of those scenes that I will remember forever.
Two things came back to me watching it as a grown up. 1) Oh the ladies... I still love Bebe Benton (Michelle Johnston). I loved Cassie (Alyson Reed) but see her as really awful at this age. Alyson is still acting, she was in one of the High School Musicals. Michelle went on to be a professional choreographer. And I could not find any pictures of her, which is good. I like to remember her as that fragile little thing, recovering from a nervous break down. 2) At the end, Zach calls out the names of 8 dancers. These people think they have been chosen. But then he excuses them, and we realize that those not called were chosen. It is a shock and a surprise, and seems like simple cruelty. To this day, I can't figure out his motivation.
What teenage boy from the 80s wouldn't have raging lust for Bebe?
Click to viewRemember, I am not gay....