A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

The past week has had many notable deaths (Edward Said, Robert Palmer, George Plimpton) but Gothamist was most saddened about yesterday's passing of entertainer Donald O'Connor, whose most memorable work is the show-stopping song, "Make 'Em Laugh," in Singin' in the Rain. O'Connor appeared in loads of films, like Anything Goes with Bing Crosby and the Francis the Talking Mule pictures, but his role as Cosmo Brown in Singin' made you wonder why there isn't a movie about him, versus Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood who could be at times, let's face it, really boring and full of himself. There are two show-stopping moments, one being Kelly's song-and-dance in the rain of the title song, which is a dreamy, beautiful interlude. But it's "Make 'Em Laugh" with O'Connor defying gravity, talking pratfalls to a new level, fisticuffs with a literal dummy, and throwing out one amazing move after another that gives the audience a chance to laugh and cry aloud. more ›

Finally, someone sums up the biggest problem with Chicago: Margo Jefferson complains how the editing in Chicago takes away from the essence of Chicago, which is the dancing. Yeah, there's all the blah blah about the movie musical being revised, but there's been no great dancing or great singing yet. When I think movie musical, I admit I think Singin' in the Rain, Wizard of Oz, Funny Face, On the Town. Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire or Cyd Charisse whose legs were so long that Gene Kelly had to tailor choreography for her, to hide the fact she was taller than him in Singin' in the Rain. I think Bill Condon, the screenwriter, did a good job in streamlining the story, but when I see the cast of the movie on Charlie Rose, bragging about how all the cutting between scenes was in the screenplay, I think it sucks, because part of the pleasure of watching a movie musical is seeing them dance, not dance in the dark. And for the millionth time, why not Bebe Neuwirth reprising her stage role as Velma in the film? Right, blah blah star power.
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