The Kilkenny Observer Friday 03 December 2021
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TV & Streaming
The 5 best films of Stephen Sondheim
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5 sexy movies to watch now on Netflix
Rom-com duo Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey star in this sultry comedy about a treasure hunter’s compulsive fascination with unearthing the fabled Queen’s Dowry. Playing on-screen lovers is nothing new for these two; but this time, their characters are falling back in love after being on the brink of divorce. So, they’ve got lots of making up to do.
Is it getting hot in here or is that just Amanda Seyfried steaming up our screens? Convinced her husband (Liam Neeson) is having multiple affairs, a timid wife (Julianne Moore) seeks out the counsel of a sex worker named Chloe (Seyfried), whom she hires to tempt her husband. Things get drastically out of hand when a flirty outing turns into the two of them fogging up the windows of a botanical garden, leaving Catherine dazed, confused, and jealous at same time. So, Chloe gives her a sexual awakening of her own.
Temptation takes over a quaint religious town after a vivacious chocolatier named Vianne begins selling magical chocolate candies that are known for their aphrodisiac qualities. Vianne’s never had such luck with her own chocolates, but then a sexy townsman named Roux comes into her life, making her feel all sorts of ways.
THE master of internal rhymes, unhappy endings, and discordant melodies has died at 91. Here’s how to mourn with a movie marathon. With the final curtain having fallen on Stephen Sondheim, maestro of American musical theatre for so many decades, the brilliant mind behind ‘Into The Woods’, ‘Sweeney Todd’, and ‘Sunday in The Park With George’, and many, many more was a titan of Broadway, and the last living connection to the Golden Age of musicals. Here are five of the best, with notes on where to find them. ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ 1961 One of the greatest movie musicals ever made, the original is getting a contemporary remake from Steven Spielberg in two weeks. ‘West Side Story’ features a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics
by Sondheim, who was just 27 years old when the musical premiered. The upbeat ‘Gee Officer Krupke’ is a rare bop from the king of malaise, his comedic chops shine in collaboration with Bernstein’s more traditional melodies. Available on HBO Max and to rent on Amazon Prime, and Apple and other services. ‘SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET’ 2007 One of Sondheim’s darkest works (rivaled only by ‘Assassins’) was introduced to a global audience in 2007, courtesy of Tim Burton. The director cast his frequent collaborator Johnny Depp as the murderous barber, and Helena Bonham Carter as Broadway’s Lady MacBeth, Mrs. Lovett. Though the stars, not known for their singing, struggled with one of Sondheim’s more difficult scores (it is, after all, an operetta). A hit with critics and audiences,
the film is one of Hollywood’s better musical adaptations in recent memory. Available to stream on Amazon Prime. ‘BEST WORST THING THAT EVER COULD HAVE HAP PENED’ 2016 Lonny Price’s documentary about the original production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is an intimate portrait of one of Sondheim’s greatest heartbreaks. “One of the lessons of adulthood is disappointment,” says a bleary-eyed actress who muses on her time in “Merrily,” a notorious 1981 flop for Sondheim and Hal Prince that ended their decades-long collaborative friendship. But “Best Worst Thing” offers a historical reminder that Sondheim wasn’t always as universally beloved as he is today. Available on Netflix. ‘INTO THE WOODS: ORIGINAL BROADWAY
CAST’1987 To fully understand Bernadette Peters, one must see her Sondheim. Peters is a true Broadway icon in the vein of — well, they just don’t make ’em like Bernadette anymore. Kristen Chenoweth can try to emulate her bubbly lilt, but she’ll never be able to ruin a rutabaga with such panache. Sorry to Meryl, but she doesn’t even come close in the 2014 big screen version. Probably Sondheim’s biggest commercial hit, and his most accessible show. Available to rent on Apple. ‘GYPSY’ 1972 Old Hollywood buffs will enjoy seeing Natalie Wood’s Gypsy Rose Lee opposite Rosalind Russell’s Mama Rose, the most iconic Broadway role for a woman ever to be written. Vaudeville, burlesque, fame, and the original battle axe stage mother — ‘Gypsy’ has it all. Available on Amazon Prime.
Closer is a very messy tale about four strangers whose lives are tangled together after one man’s boredom leads him to having an affair with Anna, (Julia Roberts) a successful photographer. Still bored and clearly unhappy with his life, Dan begins cat-fishing a dermatologist named Larry as Anna. Unbeknownst to Dan, Larry and the real-life Anna find themselves in the same room one day and things unfold from there. This seducing title features Jude Law so clearly it’s oozing with sexiness.
Adapted from the 1954 play titled Sabrina Fair, this late ‘90s remake follows the very beautiful Sabrina Fairchild, who’s now all grown up and ready to claim what’s rightfully hers: David Larrabee. However, his older brother, Linus (Harrison Ford), is under the impression that their courtship is bad for their’s family reputation so he takes matters into his own hands. But is Linus strong enough to withstand Sabrina’s alluring charm and beauty?
