WARNING: The following review contains a spoiler.
In 1990, several recording artists took part in the AIDS charity album "Red, Hot and Blue," made up of covers of Cole Porter songs; Neneh Cherry's rendition of "I've Got You Under My Skin" took a few liberties with the few, if you can call "dropping all of the music and completely changing the lyrics apart from the title" a few liberties.
This MTV Original TV Movie update of "Carmen" - ludicrously (Ludacrisly?) dubbed a "Hip Hopera" - is the closest visual equivalent yet. Transferred to present-day Philadelphia and Los Angeles, the almost total absence of Georges Bizet in favour of some people called Kip Collins and Sekani Williams is the first problem; the movie is heavy on rappers (starting with the bookends from Da Brat, who should know all about featuring in weak music movies after "Glitter") but light on people who can actually act, with all due respect to Fred Williamson. Meanwhile, the story of a basically decent policeman (Mekhi Phifer) who finds himself drawn away from his girlfriend by the spirited Carmen and falling in love with her, going to prison for her, running away etc., is surprisingly short on passion in its telling; in fact, it's really quite dull, and messily told with it (some more time to give it depth might have helped).
Having an opera in rap is a better idea in concept than in execution; music is just as important to the form as words, but umpteen phrases tumbling out without any real melody behind them is ultimately fairly tedious (though in fairness I must admit to not being much into rap anyway); they may as well be in a fast-talking contest for all the good it does. Robert Townsend insists on over-directing the movie with soft-focus, rapid repeating of shots, slow-motion etc., but all it does is make the movie seem even more like a bad music video than it already does (in fact, one scene where Carmen's two friends extol the good life waiting for them with big-time rapper Blaze IS a bad music video). It's no coincidence that the last fifteen minutes, which rely less on rapping and more on story, are comparatively the most effective in the film
***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
but even with the downbeat ending (at the rap concert climax Carmen is shot and killed by the villain, and our cop hero is arrested after avenging her death), the movie just doesn't have any real emotional punch to it, as opposed to "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet" (another update that ultimately works a lot better).
***END OF SPOILER ALERT***END OF SPOILER ALERT***END OF SPOILER ALERT***
In her first real acting role (if you don't count the time she appeared as herself in an episode of "Smart Guy"), Beyonce Knowles doesn't really convince as Carmen - unquestionably bootylicious, but as an actress she's a fine singer. Most of the rest of the cast won't be practising any acceptance speeches either, mind, but Beyonce isn't really up to the role (not that she really gets much help from the shoddy script). In one of the outtakes that accompany the end credits ("Stylist for Miss Knowles: Tina Knowles." Her mother, that is), two of the cast members are ticked off for studying Beyonce's bottom when she walks by; since Beyonce's beauty will probably provide the sole entertainment for some viewers, you really can't blame them. "Austin Powers in Goldmember" must surely be better than this...
In 1990, several recording artists took part in the AIDS charity album "Red, Hot and Blue," made up of covers of Cole Porter songs; Neneh Cherry's rendition of "I've Got You Under My Skin" took a few liberties with the few, if you can call "dropping all of the music and completely changing the lyrics apart from the title" a few liberties.
This MTV Original TV Movie update of "Carmen" - ludicrously (Ludacrisly?) dubbed a "Hip Hopera" - is the closest visual equivalent yet. Transferred to present-day Philadelphia and Los Angeles, the almost total absence of Georges Bizet in favour of some people called Kip Collins and Sekani Williams is the first problem; the movie is heavy on rappers (starting with the bookends from Da Brat, who should know all about featuring in weak music movies after "Glitter") but light on people who can actually act, with all due respect to Fred Williamson. Meanwhile, the story of a basically decent policeman (Mekhi Phifer) who finds himself drawn away from his girlfriend by the spirited Carmen and falling in love with her, going to prison for her, running away etc., is surprisingly short on passion in its telling; in fact, it's really quite dull, and messily told with it (some more time to give it depth might have helped).
Having an opera in rap is a better idea in concept than in execution; music is just as important to the form as words, but umpteen phrases tumbling out without any real melody behind them is ultimately fairly tedious (though in fairness I must admit to not being much into rap anyway); they may as well be in a fast-talking contest for all the good it does. Robert Townsend insists on over-directing the movie with soft-focus, rapid repeating of shots, slow-motion etc., but all it does is make the movie seem even more like a bad music video than it already does (in fact, one scene where Carmen's two friends extol the good life waiting for them with big-time rapper Blaze IS a bad music video). It's no coincidence that the last fifteen minutes, which rely less on rapping and more on story, are comparatively the most effective in the film
***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
but even with the downbeat ending (at the rap concert climax Carmen is shot and killed by the villain, and our cop hero is arrested after avenging her death), the movie just doesn't have any real emotional punch to it, as opposed to "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet" (another update that ultimately works a lot better).
***END OF SPOILER ALERT***END OF SPOILER ALERT***END OF SPOILER ALERT***
In her first real acting role (if you don't count the time she appeared as herself in an episode of "Smart Guy"), Beyonce Knowles doesn't really convince as Carmen - unquestionably bootylicious, but as an actress she's a fine singer. Most of the rest of the cast won't be practising any acceptance speeches either, mind, but Beyonce isn't really up to the role (not that she really gets much help from the shoddy script). In one of the outtakes that accompany the end credits ("Stylist for Miss Knowles: Tina Knowles." Her mother, that is), two of the cast members are ticked off for studying Beyonce's bottom when she walks by; since Beyonce's beauty will probably provide the sole entertainment for some viewers, you really can't blame them. "Austin Powers in Goldmember" must surely be better than this...