The Music Man

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Molly Shannon, Debra Monk, et al.

From the executive producers of the Academy Award(R)-winning musical CHICAGO (Best Picture, 2002) comes a fresh interpretation of an all-time classic. Featuring some of the most beloved songs in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Unknown Binding
• Language: English
• UPC: 717951008657
• Release Date: August 2011
• Rating: Unrated (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
• Director: Jeff Bleckner
• Starring: Matthew Broderick, Molly Shannon, Debra Monk, Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garber, Patrick McKenna, Clyde Alves
• Runtime: 2 hours, 30 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: multiple_formats
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.4" x 7.5" x 0.7"

Customer Reviews

Technically correct.

Professor Harold Hill (Matthew Broderick), a traveling salesman, is presently selling boys' bands. He is challenged by the other salesmen and the tough sale of River City. Can he sell the band and get out of town before they find out that he does not know one note from another, or will the local librarian find him out first? While technically correct, it lacks the finish of the movie ("The Music Man" 1962). You immediately realize that this is neither a stage play nor a movie. It is some type of hybrid that attempts to apply the play in a movie setting and misses both marks. Next, you will see the lack of dialogue and expressive facial quirks that set the sparkle and are half of the story itself. I do not know if the original play and movie deviated as much as this program does. However, it is not an improvement. No one has quite the singing abilities. It is reasonable to expect different people to have different actions and singing styles. Yet I am not quite ready to see Farris Buller (by the way, Matthew Broderick was excellent as Farris) in this dynamic role. Maybe 150 minutes were not long enough to include many of the songs, so they were cut short, and some had changed lyrics. Every once in a while, Matthew would mumble the song. Even if he could carry it off, there was a dismal amount of support from the other characters. Marian (Kristin Chenoweth) looked more like a gypsy than a librarian. In all of this sea of mediocrity, Victor Garber is well-suited for the part of Mayor Shinn. There were a few times, though, where he was ahead and behind his queue. This presentation was just not worth the effort.