I Could Go On Singing
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Movie Reviews of I Could Go On Singing
Movie Review: Camp Classic / Guilty Pleasure - It's Not for Everybody
Summary: 3 Stars
"Guilty pleasure" seems to be an extremely popular expression these days, generally meaning something you know you're not supposed to like, but you like it bigtime. Jerry Springer comes to mind. Bad acting, predictable fistfights... but it's proof positive, merely by its longevity, that guilty pleasures are, well, pleasing. We could say the same for all these reality shows, or those local news stories where the reporter sticks a mike into somebody's face, asks what it's like to have your puppy run over, and just wait for that big tear to roll down...
Let us face it: it is human nature to thoroughly enjoy things not despite their bad qualities, but BECAUSE of them. This is also the meaning of "camp."
By 1963, the release year of "I Could Go On Singing," Judy Garland, a very intelligent performer, was fully aware of the bad qualities that kept her camp-starved audiences coming back for more. If you wanted someone to show up on time and sing in a sweet voice, there were hundreds of singers to choose from. But with Garland, you could tell and recycle a good story-- she was late, stumbled around, sang two songs beautifully, then sang badly and forgot the lyrics until she collapsed before the ambulance arrived. It was all part of her standard performance starting in 1951 when she fell on her butt at the London Palladium, right up to her tone-deaf final Scandinavian tour in 1969.
The question is: do these shennanigans translate well to DVD or VHS? The answer is negative. And as I watched "ICGOS" I tried to put my finger on it-- why was this not working? And what I came up with is this: When Judy was bad in person or on a movie screen, you felt embarrassed for her. When Judy was bad in a DVD, or on television, watching from the privacy of your own home, you can easily feel embarrassed YOURSELF, a most unpleasant sensation. It is like stepping into an elevator where someone silently farts. Gosh, will people think it's me?!
The plot, the script, the dialogue, the music (particularly the theme song: I could go on singing 'til the cows come home/ And the rooster starts to crow-crow-crow... THAT DOESN'T EVEN RHYME!), the spastic choreography, the frumpy costumes, schoolboys in girl drag (I'm not making this up), the over-wrought bad acting... I could go on complaining. But here's the irony: there are many of Judy's fans who would prefer this dreadful film to something truly excellent, i.e. "Meet Me in
St. Louis, "The Clock," or "A Star is Born" in which Garland is at the top of her game. Go figure.
Therefore, if you're into "guilty pleasures" or old-fashioned high camp, "ICGOS" is for you. If you'd prefer to remember Judy for her incomparable talent and thrilling performances- and there were many- then maybe you ought to pass.
Movie Review: Sadly, compression artifacts RUIN Judy Garland's last movie!
Summary: 3 Stars
It is so ironic that all of Judy's MGM features are now being released by Warner Bros. DVD division AND that they are being released with such care; stunning video transfers; great special features; many with commentaries or introductions by the finest of all Garland biographers, John Fricke (a good friend). Here is Judy's final film performance, originally made through United Artists, being released by MGM's DVD division. How ironic. The video transfer for this film is Horrible! It uses a level of compression typically used for extra material besides the Feature Film. This DVD is unwatchable on computers and any Progressive Scan DVD player and TV or monitor. Compression artifacts occur with ANY movement and resemble one side of a Zipper.
Ironically, the sound and chapter breaks on this DVD are very well done. The VHS release of this movie in 1989 had a soundtrack not exactly in sync with the video. It was only really noticeable when Judy sang. It looked like she had forgotten how to do lip syncing well. The DVD shows she was as good as ever. But oh! the VIDEO!
I wrote MGM DVD a terse letter about this release.
Movie Review: Garland is Great! Plot is Thin!
Summary: 3 Stars
Garland is superb, as always. She had to try extra hard in this one because the songs she is given to sing are not up to her standard. But Judy, in her genius, makes them work. She also makes up for the deficiencies in the thin plot. I expected more but didn't receive more. This film could have been superb on all counts if the screenwriters had only had the gumption to give the script a little more than soap. There are a lot of could have beens and what ifs in this picture, which sadly was Garland's last film. She never fails to impress though and she brings the material up to her level and proves that even at her worst, she was still better than the best at their best!!Movie Review: A SAD LAST HURRAH
Summary: 3 Stars
You'll like this movie if and only if you are an ardent Judy fan. Thank goodness it's available on DVD because the soap-operatic story line is just plain boring withstanding the last scene Judy plays in an English hospital "Casualty" room to Jack Klugman. The high points are her concert numbers specifically "Hello Bluebird", "By Myself" and the title finale just before the closing credits. Dirk Bogarde is there only for decoration and screen veteran Aileen MacMahon fares well as her long-suffering maid, Ida. In Great Britian this film was released as "The Lonely Stage" which is a far more appropriate title.Movie Review: Ink-a-dink-a-dink!
Summary: 2 Stars
I have now seen two Judy Garland movies -- The Wizard of Oz and this one. All bets are off about a third.
I Could Go On Singing has the morbid distinction of being Judy's final film. She plays -- get this -- a world famous tough-talking yet vulnerable vocalist with a tormented personal life and an appetite for prescription medication and martinis. Quite a stretch.
Overall, this movie is a confused hybrid of a melodramatic soap opera, a London travelogue, and a "live" Judy Garland stage performance. It will probably be filed under "Musicals" at your video store, but that's not really accurate -- nobody spontaneously breaks out into Wizard of Oz-style song and dance production numbers. Instead, the tunes are performed by Judy's alter-ego "character" Jenny Bowman at pseudo-live sold out (of course) solo shows at the London Palladium. She sings a handful of oddly forgettable and unremarkable showstoppers, including the title song which features unfortunate lyrics such as these:
I could go on singing, til the cows come home
And the rooster starts to crow, crow, crow
When I see your eyes, I go all out I must vocalize
til you shout "enough already!"
I could go on singing, til the moon turns pink
Anything from Faust to
Ink-a-dink-a-dink!
Not even Judy can manage to deliver this stuff convincingly, but she gives it her best shot.
The notable exception is the little-known gem of a torch song, "It Never Was You" by Kurt Weill, which certainly deserves to be heard more often. There is also some remarkable instrumental soundtrack music by Mort Lindsey (co-composer of the Jeopardy theme song), especially the zippy "Helicopter Ride" symphony and the experimental, Ives-ian "Matt's Dilemma" interlude. And you get to see Judy's son (Matt -- the dilemma being he doesn't yet know he's Judy's son) performing Gilbert and Sullivan in drag, if that's the kind of thing you're into.
Otherwise, Jack Klugman, Dick Bogarde, and the rest of the cast are merely props on Judy's stage, though the kid who plays Matt is a likeable enough chap I guess. Dramatically, though, I Could Go On Singing is awfully cornball, overwrought stuff, and it all comes to an abrupt, unsatisfying conclusion.
It also doesn't help that the MGM DVD is a cheapo affair with no bonus features to speak of (no, the "theatrical trailer" doesn't count) and only barely adequate mono sound.
Grade: C-