Film adaptations of musicals can be a mixed bag. While musicals like Dear Evan Hansen, ultimately floundered in theatres. A musical movie lives and dies by its cast, especially when it comes to the discerning eyes of fans of the genre on Reddit.
Some performances see actors going one step beyond in an effort to win over skeptical audience . While some manage to steal the show this way, like Billy Porter in Cinderella, others turn in some divisive performances that risk turning off the audience entirely.
Will Smith - Aladdin
When Will Smith was first announced as the Genie in the live-action version of Disney's Aladdin, most fans found themselves perplexed by the odd casting choice. After seeing the film, however, most fans changed their opinion of Smith's genie. As Redditor u/Cybernetic343 best put it, "it's a good thing the Genie lifts because he was carrying that entire movie."
With his trademark charm and a few new jokes of his own, Will Smith makes his version of the Genie a lovable character without attempting to copy the Robin Williams original. While reception to the rest of Aladdin was lukewarm, at best, fans considered Smith the unanimous highlight of the film.
Billy Porter - Cinderella
As one of the most quotable characters in 2021's Cinderella, Billy Porter's Fab G stole the entire show with a spectacularly over-the-top performance. Even Reddit wasn't immune to Porter's charms, with u/_Patronizes_Idiots_ conceding that "you'd have to work pretty hard to make [Porter] NOT fabulous."
The one thing working against Porter was his lack of screentime, as the Fab G only appears in one scene in the entire film. Even then, their appearance serves as the signature highlight of an otherwise fairly tame musical movie.
Rebel Wilson - Cats
Many who saw the infamous the musical is really not as bad as people think, but most concede that Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots took things way too far. While recounting their problems with the movie, u/Clbull made special mention of Wilson and how her performance was "obnoxious."
Flanked by a chorus of horrifying CGI mice and cockroaches with children's faces, this Jennyanydots is a far cry from the original musical's iteration of the character. But when combined with her propensity for bad cat puns, many felt that Rebel Wilson's performance was the weakest link in a movie full of weak links.
Joel Grey - Cabaret
In the original Broadway production of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret, actor Joel Grey originated the role of the Kit Kat Klub's seedy emcee. He reprised the role for the film adaptation, and Redditor u/DTX120 noted him as a highlight, describing him as "a flamboyant, outrageously sexual character, always in heavy makeup."
Joel Grey's Emcee provides biting commentary on the growing fervor of fascism in 1930's and performs alongside Liza Minelli in the film's famous song, "Money." Alan Cumming went on to play the Emcee in future revivals of the show, making the character even more outrageous and over-the-top.
Chris Pine - Into The Woods
In the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, Chris Pine plays a womanizing take on Cinderella's Prince Charming. Fans of Pine from Star Trek, including Redditor u/darklightsun, watched Into The Woods and "were struck by just how William Shatner Chris' whole performance [was]."
Indeed, Chris Pine seems to ham it up throughout the entire film, copying Shatner's famously stunted line delivery in certain parts of the movie. He even rips open his jacket during his signature song, "Agony," as he laments his inability to seduce Cinderella.
Paris Hilton - Repo: The Genetic Opera
While Paris Hilton is well known for her reality TV shows and Repo: The Genetic Opera, with plenty of them fondly ing Hilton's hammy performance as the villainous Amber Sweet.
While Hilton leans into her public perception as a vain, spoiled heiress for her role, reportedly, she was much nicer on set. In fact, Redditor u/cutiepatootieadipose shared the fun fact that "most of the clothes her character wears are actually hers." Glamour.com mentions that Hilton even brought in 10 suitcases of her own clothes to help with styling her character.
Gerard Butler - The Phantom Of The Opera
Gerard Butler's take on The Phantom Of The Opera is a highly contentious topic in musical theatre spaces, with people debating whether or not his performance was acceptable. Redditor u/Azure_phantom, who argues against Butler's performance, declared him to be "too pretty to be a grossly disfigured 'monster'" like the Phantom is meant to be.
Thanks to his facial prosthetics, the Gerard Butler Phantom's facial differences are rather subtle and more akin to a mild psoriasis outbreak or allergic reaction than a full-on disfigurement. As a result, it makes the Phantom's angst seem somewhat over the top and lessens the intensity of his reveal.
James Corden - The Prom
Last year, James Corden was the center of The Prom, which many viewers perceived as playing into stereotypes of gay men. While discussing the debacle on Reddit, an unknown Redditor observed that the role of Barry Glickman is a multifaceted one and that "James just doesn't have the nuance as an actor to do it."
While Barry starts the film as a flamboyant and self-absorbed performer, the story later reveals that Barry's personality is a front for his own insecurities and inabilities to be out and proud as a young man. Without the lived experience of being gay, Corden misses the mark and turns in an offensively one-note performance instead.
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen
While Dear Evan Hansen's titular protagonist takes morally questionable actions throughout the film, it's clear that Evan is at least meant to be likable. But some audience thought that Ben Platt's reprisal of the character fell flat in more ways than one.
Redditor u/holephilosophy commented that Platt, in his sad moments, "looks like he swallowed a bee," and it is hard to disagree with the comparison. While theatre actors are more used to playing to audiences from far away, Platt's portrayal of a teenage boy with social anxiety can sometimes feel more like a caricature than anything else.
Maddie Ziegler In 'Music'
Sia's debut film Music made headlines for all the wrong reasons concerning its treatment of autistic people. While dissecting lead actress Maddie Ziegler's performance, Redditor u/Rinne420 points out that the titular character falls into problematic tropes, naming "the huge forced overbite, frumpy clothing etc." as "symptoms" of the neurological and/or developmental disorder.
Reddit's consensus seems to be that watching Music is an uncomfortable and disturbing experience because of the film's patronizing tone towards autism. Ziegler's performance seems less like a sensitive take on a young autistic woman and more like a high school bully's mockery.
