The one thing Hollywood never gets tired of is celebrating how "fabulous" it is. "That's Entertainment" is a documentary focusing on one aspect of this fabulousness; old musicals. It was a great idea, ruined by good old Hollywood ego.
The Hollywood musicals ran the gamut from "artistic triumph" to "real dog." "That's Entertainment" makes no distinction between the two extremes. One minute you could be watching "Singin' in the Rain" and the next you are watching a clip from "Words and Music." "Words and Music" was a critical disaster. Star Mickey Rooney called it, "A terrible turkey" in his autobiography, yet here it presented as, well, fabulous. They even show the self-contained Lena Horne solo, which could be excised for Southern audiences (what, fabulous Hollywood pander to an audience? 'Fraid so, but they would never admit it here).
In another scene we get a clip of Clark Gable singing "Puttin' on the Ritz." It is the only time in his career that Gable didn't look to be in complete control in front of the camera. In fact, he looks to be in genuine pain. No acknowledgement here that making him do this was stupid though, no, it was fabulous.
the clips are introduced by the stars of the musicals, and also Liza "Have I mentioned in the past five minutes that Judy Garland was my mother?" Minelli. One of the things they all mention is how much they love their fellow performers. Since they are obviously reading from cue cards, their declarations seem insincere.
What's more, we get no behind the scenes info. No discussions of how scenes were staged, how casting decisions were made, what directing a musical was like, nothing. Perhaps they feel that this kind of talk would take away the "magic." Instead, this glaring omission makes it all seem anti-intellectual.
My conclusion is this; "That's Entertainment" is like last years' Oscar night. Hollywood celebrates itself, and tells you that you should too. This time, I couldn't.
The Hollywood musicals ran the gamut from "artistic triumph" to "real dog." "That's Entertainment" makes no distinction between the two extremes. One minute you could be watching "Singin' in the Rain" and the next you are watching a clip from "Words and Music." "Words and Music" was a critical disaster. Star Mickey Rooney called it, "A terrible turkey" in his autobiography, yet here it presented as, well, fabulous. They even show the self-contained Lena Horne solo, which could be excised for Southern audiences (what, fabulous Hollywood pander to an audience? 'Fraid so, but they would never admit it here).
In another scene we get a clip of Clark Gable singing "Puttin' on the Ritz." It is the only time in his career that Gable didn't look to be in complete control in front of the camera. In fact, he looks to be in genuine pain. No acknowledgement here that making him do this was stupid though, no, it was fabulous.
the clips are introduced by the stars of the musicals, and also Liza "Have I mentioned in the past five minutes that Judy Garland was my mother?" Minelli. One of the things they all mention is how much they love their fellow performers. Since they are obviously reading from cue cards, their declarations seem insincere.
What's more, we get no behind the scenes info. No discussions of how scenes were staged, how casting decisions were made, what directing a musical was like, nothing. Perhaps they feel that this kind of talk would take away the "magic." Instead, this glaring omission makes it all seem anti-intellectual.
My conclusion is this; "That's Entertainment" is like last years' Oscar night. Hollywood celebrates itself, and tells you that you should too. This time, I couldn't.