Even though I am not a cartoon fan (or a Disney fan for that matter) I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Frozen’ because it had all the traits of a good musical. But I am very very wary of sequels, because I have this notion that most of them just try to just take advantage of the locked-in audience. So I begrudgingly watch ‘Frozen 2,’ and lo and behold, I really disliked it. But I am mostly looking at this film from the point of view of it being a musical.
First of all, the Lopezes have assembled a group of songs that are a lot less interesting. The songs here now feel pre-meditated. Since ‘Let It go’ was such a big hit, why don’t we give Elsa not one but two generic-sounding power ballads? Gone are the character pieces from the first film – no ‘Do You Want To Build A Snowman’ which emulated a feeling.
Sure, the animation is still first rate, and the colors are still vibrant. Still, much of this did not really hold my interest much, and yes, that is a fault of mine.
There’s a very very funny thing happening at The Gil Cates Theater at The Geffen Playhouse in Wetwood, and the Ms. Elsa from Frozen herself Idina Menzel is in the middle of it. In Joshua Harmon’s ‘Skintight,’ she is front and center and she is both hilarious and touching as Jodi. Jodi is a woman of a certain middle age, and her husband has just divorced her, trading her in for a younger model. She runs away from California to New York, partly to escape from her current situation, and partly to help celebrate her father’s 70th birthday. Her father, Elliot (played by Harry Groener) is sort of a Calvin Klein figure, a fashion mogul once married to a woman but with a string of boy toys to his name. He is now settling down with Try, twenty years old, and the same exact age as Benjamin, his grandson by Jodi. They all converge on his tony NYC apartment, and….well, hilarity (and other things) ensue. Menzel is terrific here, with all her luminescent star power, equipped with razor sharp comedic timing and stage presence (you can’t stop looking at her) and she is a diva in the greatest sense here, surrounded by gay men as he battles sassy zingers with them left and right. Harmon’s first play, ‘Significant Others’ is modern gay life specific, and I think ‘Skintight’ is as well, as the play comments on youth and life with a very gay sensibility – if that’s not enough intellectually, we get Trey, the boy toy played by Will Brittain wearing just a jock in a huge chunk of the first act (and it’s a glorious sight) I had a lot of fun watching ‘Skintight,’ some of it shallow, but fun is fun however one takes it!
You can just guess where the state of my emotions are right now because when Idina Menzel sing the track ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye/I’ll Be Seeing You’ from her new album ‘idina:live,’ I started weeping. It’s mostly from a mixture of emotions – some tough breaks lately, missing some departed loved ones, and basically just feeling the gorgeousness of these two songs. I mean, this is not even the most imaginative medlette pairing, but something about it just got to me, and for a brief moment there all those emotions rolled up into that one track.
I have never been to The Greek Theater before, so it was great that on the start of Easter weekend, I saw Idina Menzel live there as the opening act for their 2017 concert season. Sure, the weather was still too cold for an outdoor concert, but is there anything better than seeing one of your favorite divas under the light of he moon and stars? I didn’t think so.
After watching ‘Beaches’ the other night, I went on an Idina Menzel kick, listening to her latest album, ‘idina.’ I don’t think I have written about this album since it came out last year, although I certainly have listened to it a lot. Like really, a whole lot.
This also takes me to the soundtrack to ‘Beaches,’ where Menzel sings five songs. Let’s take ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ They wisely tried to get away from Midler’s version, and we get a synth arrangement here that, unfortunately, does not serve the song. In fact, I kind of hate it, as it sounds like it is trying hard to be ‘modern.’ She fares better in ‘The Glory of Love,’ which has a more traditional arrangement, and we can see her voice soar higher here. She covers the Pretender’s ‘I’ll Stand By You’ as well, and while it’s fine, I feel like I have heard her version before. ‘LAst Time’ is a cut from her ‘idina.’ album above, and the song fits a moment in the story perfectly. But my favorite track from the soundtrack is ‘I Can Hear the Music’ which I know from my dear beloved Peggy Lee. I guess thats’ just the kind of guy I am.
A lot of people are asking – does the world really need a ‘beaches’ remake? It’s such a beloved movie for so many people that it would be impossible to top it. Admittedly, it’s a pretty flawed movie, but it has connected with the audience, and to this day people still watch it with a good cry. Even Idina Menzel, who stars in the remake, in an interview with Andy Cohen on ‘Watch What Happens live,’ has said that a lot of older gay men were getting mad at her for doing this role (presumably these are all Bette Midler fans ) but like it or not, here it comes!
Luha Thoughts 