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Review

Enjoy three (very different) later-year MGM musicals for one low price in this new collection. Contained in American Movie Musicals Collection: Volume 2 are re-releases of the classics Hair, A Chorus Line and De-Lovely.

Hair (1979)
Director Milos Forman's exuberant adaptation of the '60s landmark play shines with a wealth of cinematic finesse, heightened by Twyla Tharp's visceral choreography and the inspired performances of Williams, D'Angelo and Savage. They said it was unfilmable, and Forman proved them wrong. And, for gay audiences, who could forget hippie Don Dacus proclaim, "I wouldn't kick Mick Jagger out of bed, but I'm not a homosexual" or the very gay and fleshy number "Black Boys/White Boys"? And check out Michael Jeter as the inductee wearing nail polish on his toenails. Lots of fun, and the opening "Aquarius" never fails to thrill. Also watch for singing appearances by Nell Carter and Melba Moore.

A Chorus Line (1985)
Those who did not see the Broadway production of this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical may appreciate Attenborough's lifeless adaptation. All others will long for the energy, class and integrity of the original. The story, of course, is about a group of dancers auditioning for the chorus of a Broadway musical. The show's famous song, "What I Did for Love" (the song, a dancer's anthem, has been changed from "What if I couldn't dance anymore" to a whiny lovers' lament), is thrown away by Attenborough's over-the-shoulder, off-handed nonchalance; the finale "One" is also now considerably less show-stopping. Adding to the film's disappointments is the decision to eliminate one of the play's gay characters and downplay the importance of the other two gay dancers. Ambitious to say the least (Michael Douglas as a choreographer? Puh-lease), showtune queens may still get a (high) kick or two out of it.

De-Lovely (2004)
Telling the story of famed gay songwriter Cole Porter seems to be a tough task. The 1946 Cary Grant film Night and Day was a complete stink-bomb - never even mentioning Porter's homosexuality. De-Lovely is certainly a better film politically - it's obsessed with Cole Porter's homo life - but it's actually a little boring. What redeems both films are the songs and the musical performances. Kevin Kline plays Cole Porter with as much panache as the wilted material will allow. In real life, his marriage was one of convenience and gay boys ruled the Porter household. In De-Lovely, the marriage was failed and the male encounters were secret. Ashley Judd also holds up as well as could be expected as the haunted wife of a noted homosexual. What really makes this film worth owning, though, are the incredible musical performances by Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette and Robbie Williams. These stars sing full-length songs in standard, non-updated form and costume.

 -- Scott Cranin