Liza Minnelli's Maevis has shuffled off to Buffalo from Broadway where she once stood right next to Bob Fosse. If that in-joke may be off-putting for people aware of Minnelli's real-life connection with her "Cabaret" director (who she worked with on more than one occasion), it is only because they can't separate the real Minnelli from the character she plays. Yes, Liza has the practically the same hair-do she had in "Arthur", and when you are as famous as she is, it is difficult to separate her from the legend. But take that away, and you have a "Let's put on a show!" comedy with songs that is as fresh and far from the style of films made the same year and very similar to the great musicals of the golden age of Hollywood.
She is a dance teacher who specializes in training novices, and here, she has some of the greatest theater talents around. Jane Krakowski, Andrea Martin, Ellen Greene, Bill Irwin, Julie Walters, Carol Woods, Sheila McCarthy among them, not to mention the great Shelley Winters as the very cantankerous piano player. It is her ambition to get these clumsy tappers ready for a big show she's been asked to participate in, and if the results are somewhat predictable, it certainly is a lot of fun.
Yes, Liza's talent is way too big just to be a dance teacher in Buffalo, but why deny Liza's billion fans the chance to see her in her first big movie in years. Unfortunately, the big wigs at Paramount were very leery of this movie's chance at success, and it only had minimal release, mostly in big cities where they knew they'd at least get the gay audience to rush to see her. She builds the dancers from the ground up and the results are triumphant for her and the pupils as the big day nears. Of course, the first show they do still shows them as awkward but there's a lavish finale where top hats, canes and sequins take over and Liza gets to sing, too! So put aside your cynicism, break out your own tap shoes, and you too will be steppin' out with Judy's baby.
She is a dance teacher who specializes in training novices, and here, she has some of the greatest theater talents around. Jane Krakowski, Andrea Martin, Ellen Greene, Bill Irwin, Julie Walters, Carol Woods, Sheila McCarthy among them, not to mention the great Shelley Winters as the very cantankerous piano player. It is her ambition to get these clumsy tappers ready for a big show she's been asked to participate in, and if the results are somewhat predictable, it certainly is a lot of fun.
Yes, Liza's talent is way too big just to be a dance teacher in Buffalo, but why deny Liza's billion fans the chance to see her in her first big movie in years. Unfortunately, the big wigs at Paramount were very leery of this movie's chance at success, and it only had minimal release, mostly in big cities where they knew they'd at least get the gay audience to rush to see her. She builds the dancers from the ground up and the results are triumphant for her and the pupils as the big day nears. Of course, the first show they do still shows them as awkward but there's a lavish finale where top hats, canes and sequins take over and Liza gets to sing, too! So put aside your cynicism, break out your own tap shoes, and you too will be steppin' out with Judy's baby.