West Side Story (1961)

Rating: 90%
Well I don't have a lot of big musicals to review before Les Mis hits the theaters. So let's get over with in reviewing another musical film classic, West Side Story.

Plot: Based on the story of Romeo and Juliet, the film starts in Manhattan there are two gangs that are in rival with each other: the white American Jets and the Puerto Rican immigant Sharks. After a fight between the rival gangs that are eventually broken up by the police, the leader of the Jets named Riff asks his best friend tony - a co-founder of the Jets who has since left the gang - to take part in a challenge of territory against the Sharks at a dance. But once there, Tony find and falls in love with a girl named Maria who happens to be the sister of the leader of the Sharks, Bernardo. So the two are left meeting each other in secret while both gangs prepare to fight each other.

  
Well this is another one where I have to ask: "what can I say that hasn't already been said?" It's a really good musical film. It's big, happy, funny, tragic, it has well made color and choreography, classic choreography (even if some of it is done in unnecessary times...st least that's how I felt on one or two moments during the beginning) memorable moment, ( I mean come on, who has seen this film and doesn't remember the signature Jets snapping fingers thing?), and of coarse some music that many musical geeks know/love. After all, while some if them aren't the best songs you would find memorable - like for me I'm not big about Something Coming,  Maria, and Tonight - there are some song that are very fun and memorable that any musical geek (Rachel Hills) should know like America, Gee, Officer Krupke, Jet Song, I feel Pretty and Cool. In fact, according to my sister who's seen the actual show, the show is not quite as enjoyable since some of the songs are more in Spanish then an English which may throw things off for people who don't speak it. The characters were mostly easy to detect as far as who they were based on from Romeo and Juliet and were more developed and likable then in Romeo and Juliet...I mean sure that's a given, but still.

And that's my review for West Side Story. It's a well done film that has some classical choreography, songs, more developed characters then in Romeo and Juliet and is all around a well done film to enjoy and definitely a film to remember if you are into big musicals.