Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

I went with my sister (who's a big fan of Sondheim from way back) to see Johnny Depp as "Sweeney Todd" on Saturday afternoon, and that was fine and all, though not exactly cheerful or in any way what you could call a 'happy ending' flick.

However, last night my sister took me to the Mayfair Mall to check out one of the TWO (count 'em, two!) Hindi films currently showing there at the AMC multiplex. We saw the movie "Welcome" -- a rollicking, slapstick-filled, romantic comedy that barrelled along for over two and a half hours and included much musical eye- and ear-candy.

Now THAT was my idea of a fun time at the movies!

I'm so happy that my first-ever exposure to a Bollywood musical on the big screen (well, if you don't count the English-language "Bride & Prejudice" which I greatly enjoyed) was such a good one!

This is the kind of movie musical Hollywood used to make sixty years ago, with mistaken identities, comedic criminals, and Busby-Berkley-choreographed production numbers at regular intervals.

Or perhaps a more apt comparison would be to the comedies of Shakespeare -- imagine "Much Ado About Nothing" with English subtitles and MUCH more singing and dancing, and visual or plot-line homages to many of your favorite movies of the past thirty years, and you've got an idea of how much fun it is to experience "Welcome".

Now I just have to figure out how to convince some theater in Nashville to start showing a different Bollywood film every week, like the Mayfair in Milwaukee does.