1929 - The Broadway Melody of 1929

Lyndsay- Ohhh lord, this movie was terrible. Since it was 1929 I'll cut it some slack on the technical aspects- sound, film quality, scene transitions- but the plot was even worse. I truly don't understand how anyone would have found it entertaining. Not only was the plot terribly formed so that it's message and resolution were still unclear as the end credits were rolling, but the acting was just as bad. There would be part of a scene where it was good, somewhat realistic, and then 30 seconds later a "oh tell me it ain't so" and dramatic hair flip moment. What I found worst of all was the dancing. I was actually somewhat excited to see this one because I love dancing and dance movies and thought it might at least be entertaining on that front. Well, I was wrong. Anyone see Troop Beverly Hills? Remember "The Freddy"? Yeah, it was just like that. Maybe this is what people really danced like back then, and if so I am 100% glad I live in the So You Think You Can Dance era. Grade: F

PS- If you haven't seen Troop Beverly Hills, you have to drop everything and rent it... or borrow it from me... or just buy it. And yes, I realize this statement may compromise people's trust in my ability to review movies.

Jon: Agreed, this movie totally sucked ball sack. The story was a hugely exaggerated fairy tale of the Mahoney sisters, Hank and Queenie, who come from the middle of nowhere (Peoria, IL) to New York only to be instantly cast in a major Broadway production. Their fate is the polar opposite of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy, and their characters are far less interesting. There's a little love triangle going on between Hank, Queenie, and Eddie Kearns - an established Broadway actor - but it is all so poorly acted that I would have rather been depressed while watching Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman struggle through a New York winter. The singing and dancing were also equally awful, make for a real shitbag of a movie. Since this was the first film to win Best Picture, the standards may have been a bit lower considering there were only a handful of movies made between 1928 - 1929. However, that's not anyone's fault who is below the age of 80, so we don't need to be entertained by the pile of garbage. Grade: F