This quirky movie puts the original play - a parody of 20s stage musicals - and tucks it within a movie that is a parody of 30s movie musicals. It's an interesting conceit, with an uprepared understudy taking over for an injured star while a supporting player does her best to sabotage everyone in a bid for the attention of a famous film director who has just wandered in.
The problem with a parody within a parody is it can be difficult to tell what is awful on purpose and what is just awful. Is the awkward banter that starts the film an purposeful? I have no idea.
The result is more entertaining than it is good, but it contains some wonderful things. Most wonderful is Tommy Tune, a brilliant dancer who could have been a movie star in an earlier time. Dancing down the hall during a conversation or telling his life story as an elaborate dance is indescribably wonderful. It's a shame director Ken Russell didn't just toss his original concept and build a movie around Tune. Sadly, his few scenes comprise the bulk of his film dancing.
Oddly enough, some of the film's most interesting moments are only in the 1987 re-release, such as the utterly bizarre forest scene and "The You-Don't-Want-To-Play-With-Me Blues" number.
Many of the musical numbers are tributes to Busby Berkeley, and the results are mixed. The numbers are sloppy by BB standards, and Russell rarely puts any spin on the numbers to make them more than inferior clones. Still, they're generally pleasant and I really like the double kaleidoscope thing.
Twiggy is pleasant in the lead and there are good performances by Christopher Gable as the male star and Antonia Ellis as a schemer, and a few vaguely familiar faces.
Overall the Boy Friend could be be described as a failed experiment, but it's such an interesting experiment that I still enjoyed watching it.
The problem with a parody within a parody is it can be difficult to tell what is awful on purpose and what is just awful. Is the awkward banter that starts the film an purposeful? I have no idea.
The result is more entertaining than it is good, but it contains some wonderful things. Most wonderful is Tommy Tune, a brilliant dancer who could have been a movie star in an earlier time. Dancing down the hall during a conversation or telling his life story as an elaborate dance is indescribably wonderful. It's a shame director Ken Russell didn't just toss his original concept and build a movie around Tune. Sadly, his few scenes comprise the bulk of his film dancing.
Oddly enough, some of the film's most interesting moments are only in the 1987 re-release, such as the utterly bizarre forest scene and "The You-Don't-Want-To-Play-With-Me Blues" number.
Many of the musical numbers are tributes to Busby Berkeley, and the results are mixed. The numbers are sloppy by BB standards, and Russell rarely puts any spin on the numbers to make them more than inferior clones. Still, they're generally pleasant and I really like the double kaleidoscope thing.
Twiggy is pleasant in the lead and there are good performances by Christopher Gable as the male star and Antonia Ellis as a schemer, and a few vaguely familiar faces.
Overall the Boy Friend could be be described as a failed experiment, but it's such an interesting experiment that I still enjoyed watching it.