Band Wagon

Great 1953 musical from Vincente Minnelli starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, and Nanette Fabray.

Has been performer (Astaire) gets involved in a musical that revives his spirits and career. Plot isn't important here...the draw is the music and dance numbers.

Innovative scenes make this a delight, especially the "Girl Hunt Ballet" which spoofs film noir.

Frothy, fun, and memorable.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045537/

Across the Universe

There have been a lot of the so-called "jukebox musicals" but this one worked for me.

Julie Taymor's 2007 film takes Beatles music and reinterprets it to fit her story of love and a society in turmoil.

Creative shooting, imaginative staging. The songs were used well and preformed with a new sense of topicality and urgency.

Really liked this one.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445922/

Cry Baby

Long before Captain Jack Sparrow Johhny Depp was Cry Baby in this 1990 offering from John Waters.

Cool, funny musical with that John Waters sense of lunacy and absurdity starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Polly Bergen, Ricki lake, and Traci Lords (yes, THAT Traci Lords)

"Good" girl whose mother runs a finjishing school falls for Cry Baby, leader of the "Drapes", rock and rollin', hot roddin' greasers.

Funny, with great and surprising supporting cast (Troy Donahue?) and classic soundtrack that sounds like it was ripped off the Billboard charts in 1959.

Fun and frisky.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099329/

The Fabuolous Baker Boys

Steve Kloves directed this 1989 film starring Jeff and Beau Bridges as piano duo brothers whose once successful act is now hitting the skids....playing dive lounges and putting finjancial pressures on them. Along comes singer Michelle Pfeiffer who joins the act and carries it.

Not a particularly great movie but the Bridges Brothers are fine and Michelle Pfeiffer...well, she's just as sexy as it gets.

Check out the scene where she sings "Makin' Whoopie" on top of the piano. Too hot.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097322/

That Thing You Do!

Made in 1996 and directed by Tom Hanks.

Stars Tom Hanks, Toim Everet Scott, Steve Zahn, and Liv Tyler.

Group of friends in early 1960s Pennsylvania write and record song that takes them to the top of the charts. Likeable tunes, especially the title song. Which is good since we must hear it a million times. And all the songs sound authentic to the time period.

Hanks plays an exec with PlayTone Records...Playtone is actually the the name of Hanks' production company.

Tom Everet Scott is fine as the "smart one" in the band, "Shades"...Zahn is funny, and Liv Tyler is the PERFECT girlfriend.

Good feel for the time period with just the right clothes, guitars, amps, and even microphones.

Hanks also co-wrote the script and some of the songs.

Likeable, fun, and light-hearted.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117887/

Bugsy Malone

Another one that parents can enjoy with their kids.

1976 Alan Parker film is creatrive and fun....mob story satirizes gangster films. In this crazy, unique musical all the parts are played by kids including Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. And Mom and Dad don't have to worry about mob violence, the machine guns shoot whipped cream.

Check out the cars, the costumes (pretty lavish production), the songs and production numbers are fun, and the kids all do a great job in this spoof of 1930s gangland.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074256/

Mother Goose Rock and Rhyme

One for the kids...and their parents too!

Shelley Duvall exec produced this 1990 TV musical (directed by Jeff Stein) that is creative and fun on many levels. Innovative sets, costumes, and great production numbers make this endearing and fun.

And what a cast! Shelley Duvall as Little Bo Peep teams up with Mother Goose's son Gordon to find out why all the inhabitants of Rhymeland are disappearing. Look for Harry Anderson as Peter Piper, Ben Vereen as Itsy Bitsy Spider, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, the Stray Cats, ZZ Top, Gary Shandling, Teri Garr, Little Richard, Bobby Brown, Deborah Harry, and many more stars and performers.

Cute and great songs and dancing. Fun for the whole family!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100192/