Never content to do anything by halves, Ken Russell has made a movie musical that fascinated and frustrated me in nearly equal measure. This is a film within which a musical unfolds in real time that then has dream/fantasy sequences which, as the film goes on, tend to go on for too long. Actors in the play try to trip each other up while also mugging for the Hollywood talent scout. The songs are cliche bordering on parody but are often paired with the most sumptuous, opulent visuals. This is a film that revels in its excess and "muchness." Fortunately, this is-or-isn't-it-a-joke had a knee-slapper of a punchline-ending. (And theater kids would probably get a laugh or dozen out of this.)
Review of The Boy Friend
