Rock-and-roll icon Conrad Birdie is about to go into the Army, and plans are being made to arrange his final going-away concert.
Director: Gene Saks
19 songs in the Soundtracks. None of the cast was dubbed.
Watched Bye Bye Birdie (1963), 7+ in August (this is Nov), and the '95 version only makes me nostalgic for the '63. In my notes I talk about the energy of that one, which is definitely missing here. I just finished watching, and although I remember them singing Lot of Living, I don't remember how they staged it, but I do remember from '63.
We don't get the iconic opening/closing where AM sang into the camera.
Cast comparison ('95 order):
Jason Alexander :: Dick Van Dyke
Vanessa Williams :: Janet Leigh
Chynna Phillips :: Ann-Margret
Tyne Daly :: Maureen Stapleton
Marc Kudisch :: Jesse Pearson (Conrad Birdie)
George Wendt :: Paul Lynde
Jason Gaffney :: Bobby Rydell (Hugo Peabody, bf)
JA can sing & dance, but he's just not as pleasurable to watch as DV. CP can sing well enough, but AM's dancing is what gives her 60s musical numbers their raison d'etre, and CP doesn't have the IT that AM had. VW and JL are about the same skill level of singing/dancing, but JL acted with a little more oomph, especially in her big dance number alone in the bar with the middle-aged men. GW doesn't have the same vinegar as PL. TD is right on par with MS.
The songs are still terrific, and you can see why this would have been a stage hit.
Although I'm giving this a straight 6, this is much like the shruggable Betty Grable movies: I'd rather watch a musical 6 than most other 6's.
Rated 5.9 by 671 IMDb voters.
Rated 5.9 by 671 IMDb voters.
distr. ABC (tv), dir. Saks; 6
