It’s that time of year again. Dust off your gold lamé suit, pour yourself one hell of a stiff drink and carefully readjust your irony meter — it’s Eurovision time!
Fergus and I have been training for this by watching early 80s music videos while listening to overly earnest progressive rock and Swedish pop music, and I think we’re ready to see you through the next two hours. Join us in the comments below!
Today, the web is abuzz with news of the latest American Idol winner (or as abuzz as one can be about a topic very few people seem to care about), but here at PV, we’re looking ahead to the true talent contest of the year: Eurovision. Yes, this Saturday, the countries of Europe pit their strange, wacky and just plain wrong bands against each other, and we’ll be here to liveblog it. Join us Saturday night for the rundown of each tinfoil costume or interpretive dance number. Perhaps, if we are very, very lucky, we’ll get another Lordi this year.
I’m not sure that anyone does a cheesy reality show quite like the British. Sure, the US may have mastered such competitive fare as Survivor or The Amazing Race, but when we want some tongue-in-cheek fun, we know which nation to turn to for inspiration. After all, the nation that gave us Pop Idol and Strictly Come Dancing (which, of course, spawned American Idol and Dancing With the Stars) knows a thing or two about light-hearted, disposable fun.
I’d Do Anything, which tracks the search for the next West End star — in this case, to play Nancy or the titular role in the musical Oliver! — fits the bill perfectly. It has all the hallmarks of a quality reality show: a diverse cast, heart-breaking human interest stories, and a prize that’s actually worth something. Granted, I’m a sucker for a good musical, so I’m a bit biased, but here are a few more reasons to watch the show:
1. It’s a chance to learn that English people can be just as rubbish as Americans when it comes to mimicking a Cockney accent. Dick Van Dyke can sleep a bit easier.
2. The show is remarkably self-aware, at least in terms of its own camp value. The fact that each appearance of Andrew Lloyd Webber is greeted with the opening strains of Phantom of the Opera suggests the editors are amused or tipsy, if not both. Plus, it’s hosted by the camp-tastic Graham Norton. American Idol should be so lucky.
3. Unlike most American reality shows, the writers assume that the audience already knows a thing or two, happily including the phrase “scarier than Bill Sykes with a hangover” without a note of explanation.
4. Two words: John Barrowman. He may be dark and grim on Torchwood these days, but he spends his time on I’ll Do Anything randomly breaking into song with a gigantic grin on his face or showing off his bum in an effort to demonstrate how dirty Nancy should be. The man is irresistible.
5. Repeated use of the phrase, “You’re going to nancy school!” It just never gets old.
I’d Do Anything airs on BBC1, 7pm, Saturday, or all week on the BBC iPlayer for those who refuse to stay home on a Saturday night to watch a reality show (or at least refuse to admit it).
I have often bemoaned the fact that rarely, if ever, do people in real life break out into song and dance the way they do in a musical. I am convinced there would be much more harmony in this world if we occasionally took the time to link arms and bust out some Rockette-style kicks.
Apparently, Improv Everywhere agrees with this sentiment.
Today, Pop Vultures is pleased to introduce the Friday 5, a weekly feature in which an entirely subjective opinion on some element of pop culture is presented through the highly authoritative form of a countdown list. Today: 5 Movies That Should be Musicals.
MTV’s recent airing of Legally Blonde: The Musical reminded me of just how many films have already received the song-and-dance treatment. Though Hollywood gets a lot of flack for the way it regurgitates past stories, Broadway has its own share of guilt in this regard. In addition to its retelling of Legally Blonde, recent productions have recycled stories from films as varied as Footloose and Evil Dead. London’s West End has also gotten in on the act with Lord of the Rings (don’t tell me it was a book first, because they had decades to bring it to the stage and it wasn’t until Orlando Bloom pranced around in a pair of leggings that someone had the bright idea). Just today, Cinematical reported that To Die For, the Gus Van Sant film starring Nicole Kidman, is about to be reimagined as a musical. Clearly, films these days are just waiting to be picked up by Broadway, so which ones should be next to hit the Great White Way?
5. Harry Potter
The Pitch: It’s Harry Potter, aka Midas Boy. Someone’s gonna do it eventually, so why not now?
Why it should be a musical: Technically, yes, it was originally, and still is, an insanely successful book series, but let’s take a few cues from the film. Every major British actor seems keen to play one of the leads. Naturally they will want to combine those high-profile roles with the class of theatre! Imagine a singing/dancing Alan Rickman. A two-stepping Dumbledore! The staging would be gorgeous, with the fantastic element of musical theatre a perfect match for the magic of the story. Plus, the recent proliferation of Harry Potter fan-bands means that the songs are already written. The producers would only need to buy the rights to the songs for an insultingly small amount of money and then reap the rewards. It is sure to receive terrible reviews and yet play for years.
The meaningful subtext: An allegory for the isolation and confusion of adolescence in which…oh, screw it. It will make money. Lots and lots of money.
Sample songs: Anything from the catalog of Harry & the Potters, Draco & the Malfoys, Ginny & the Weasleys, Hagrid & the Giants, or Ron & the Golden Snitch. (Note: a few of those bands may not exist. Yet.)
