DVD Review: Moulin Rouge (B)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Starring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent & Ozzy Osbourne (voice only)
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

This film is a fast paced musical that you will either love or hate, its pretty hard to sit on the fence with an over the top production such as this.

I have to admit I came into Moulin Rouge a bit leery (Ewan McGregor singing in a musical?) but it quickly won me over. Moulin Rouge was an ambitious project by any measure. Nicole Kidman continues her run of fabulous acting performances (The Others, To Die For) and its clear that she has turned into one of the best actresses in Hollywood today.

Moulin Rouge aims to go way over the top, and it succeeds wonderfully. However, the star of the show here was the costume and art direction. Brigitte Broch (set decorator) and Catherine Martin (art director) won Academy Awards for the work here and deservedly so. Everything looks incredible from the sets to the hot as hell dresses, corsets and lace that the dancers wore. What can I say, this film was like a feast for the eyes.

The story? Well it was a throwaway mess but, this whole thing is a remake of a remake, and by the time you get midway through the movie, you won't really care about the plot anyway. For the record (I guess I have to talk about the plot sometime) the story involved the beautful Satine (Kidman), who is the star of the famous Moulin Rouge dance hall. A young writer (played by McGregor) tries to break into the biz, and is taken in by the bohemians (led by Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec). The Moulin Rouge is seeking money to continue its shows and therefore Satine is accustomed to wooing investors. She mistakes McGregor for an investor, and he falls in love with her. Its all a bit convoluted, especially as the story advances mostly through elaborate dance numbers.

Moulin Rouge was a wildly colored, elaborately choreagraphed feast for the eyes, perhaps the best I have seen since Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Sure it was corny, but it looked great, was completely silly and I have to admit that this film was one of the most creative I have seen in a long time. I would have loved to give it a higher grade, but the music really gave me the creeps at times (especially the dorky rendition of Elton John's "My Song"). With a more cutting edge musical score, this could have been on par with Cabaret.

The story was laughable, the music a bit campy, but again, if you are willing to look past these minor flaws, Moulin Rouge is one heck of a good time.

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