{"id":9894,"date":"2024-12-10T23:43:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T04:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=9894"},"modified":"2024-12-10T23:43:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T04:43:04","slug":"west-side-story-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/12\/10\/west-side-story-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"West Side Story (2021)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"West Side Story <\/strong>(2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th<\/sup> Century\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 156 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some strong violence, strong language, thematic content, suggestive material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Steven Spielberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Tony Kushner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Leonard Bernstein\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: December 10, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Brian d\u2019Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Josh Andres, Iris Menas, Mike Iveson, Jamila Velazquez, Annelise Cepero, Yassmin Alers, Jamie Harris, Curtiss Cook.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $38.5M (US)\/$76M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0A great big thank you to Steven Spielberg for restoring my faith in musicals with his reimagining of West Side Story<\/strong>, the second film adaptation of Jerome Robbins\u2019 Tony-winning stage musical. After suffering through the wretched Dear Evan Hansen earlier this fall, I was fearful it would come to represent the future of the genre. I doubt that will be the case since it flopped at the box office, but I was still slightly trepidatious about what Spielberg might do to one of the most beloved cinematic love stories of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It turns out I had nothing to worry about. West Side Story<\/strong> is one of those rare instances where the remake absolutely does the original justice. Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner (Munich) stay loyal to the play and 1961 film (winner of that year\u2019s Best Picture) while making a few changes in a way that makes it fresh and vibrant. Thankfully, none of them involve characters rapping in lieu of singing or speaking. The iconic songs by Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) remain intact as does the storyline originally conceived by Arthur Laurents.<\/p>\n

\u00a0If you want to get technical, the plot of West Side Story<\/strong> was actually conceived by William Shakespeare. It\u2019s essentially a modern version of Romeo and Juliet with its tale of forbidden love between a boy and a girl from different worlds. Two street gangs, alike in dignity, in fair New York where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge to imminent rumble. The Jets (the whites) and the Sharks (the Puerto Ricans) have been going at it for a while. Both want control of their neighborhood, the Upper West Side, a crumbling place living under the looming shadow of the wrecking ball tearing down the old to make way for the new.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Love grows from hate the moment Tony (Elgort, Baby Driver) spots Maria (Zegler) across a crowded gymnasium at a local dance. Tony, a recently paroled convict and former Jet, is trying to go straight. Maria, the younger sister of Shark leader Bernardo (Alvarez), has recently arrived in America from Puerto Rico. She\u2019s been ordered by her big brother to not even look at a gringo. When she and Tony first lock eyes, it\u2019s love at first sight. Tony\u2019s interest in Maria so offends Bernardo, he agrees to Jet leader Riff\u2019s (Faist) terms for a rumble. In other words, it\u2019s ON!<\/p>\n

\u00a0I don\u2019t think I have to go into too much detail about the plot. Most people I know have seen the original movie, either on their own or with their parents or grandparents. My mother was a big fan of West Side Story<\/strong>. She watched it every time it was on TV. I didn\u2019t see it in its entirety until I was in my 20s. I loved it. I love the remake as well. One of the best creative choices made by Spielberg was NOT to update the story. It\u2019s still set in 1957, a time when diversity wasn\u2019t a widely accepted practice. People tended to stay with their own kind. A mixed-race relationship like Tony and Maria\u2019s was socially verboten. Their complicated love story wouldn\u2019t make sense set in 2021. Things were way different back in the 50s and 60s. I say this because it\u2019s important for younger viewers new to West Side Story <\/strong>to understand the time and context.<\/p>\n

\u00a0You know what, I don\u2019t want to talk the sociopolitical aspects of West Side Story<\/strong> anymore. Instead, I\u2019d like to focus on its entertainment value. It\u2019s VERY entertaining! This is how a musical is done right. It opens with the Jets prowling, gliding, sliding and dancing through the streets of NYC, gathering in larger numbers as the scene progresses. Look at the way it\u2019s set up; you\u2019ll notice something unusual. It\u2019s NOT one of those choppy, quick-cut deals aimed at teens with short attention spans. No, Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Bridge of Spies) go completely old school with West Side Story<\/strong>. The camera doesn\u2019t just record the actors dancing and gliding; it moves along with them capturing every movement. The staging of the numbers is spot-on each time, especially \u201cAmerica\u201d which now takes place in the streets and sidewalks instead of the rooftops. It\u2019s a real show-stopper.<\/p>\n

\u00a0My other favorite number is \u201cSomewhere\u201d which is not sing by Tony and Maria this time. The wonderful Rita Moreno does the honors this time. As I\u2019m sure you know, she won an Oscar for playing Bernardo\u2019s girlfriend Anita in the 1961 film. This time, she plays sympathetic shopkeeper Valentina who provides Tony with a job, place to stay and good advice. She sings \u201cSomewhere\u201d wistfully as she remembers her marriage to a gringo. She is magnificent in the new West Side Story<\/strong>. It\u2019s great hearing the 90YO actress sing again. She deserves a second Oscar for her performance here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So what about the two leads, Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler? In the case of the latter, it\u2019s safe to say a star is born. Not only does the half-Colombian actress do all her own singing (unlike Natalie Wood), she also strikes just the right balance between innocent and fiery. As for Elgort, he\u2019s good. I didn\u2019t completely buy him as a street tough, but he has great chemistry with his co-star. Faist is fantastic as Riff; he does a great job with his big number \u201cGee, Officer Krupke\u201d. Speaking of which, Brian d\u2019Arcy James (Spotlight) does a good job as the nemesis of both gangs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0West Side Story<\/strong> is a triumph on every level. The production design is awesome and authentic. It\u2019s an absolutely beautiful production. I had one complaint about the movie, but after reading a friend\u2019s comments and doing a little research on my own, I\u2019ve changed my tune. Initially, I didn\u2019t like the absence of subtitles when the Puerto Rican characters spoke Spanish. I got the gist of what they were saying, but I wanted to know everything they said. Blame the completist in me. I learned that it was a conscious choice on the part of the director to not translate what was being said. He wanted to convey the idea of cultural inclusion. Subtitles would just undermine the PR characters, remind audiences of differences instead of similarities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0ANYWAY, consider me a big fan of the new West Side Story<\/strong>. It\u2019s incredible, outstanding and simply wonderful. It has the same emotional impact as the original. It\u2019s worth noting that it\u2019s Spielberg\u2019s first musical. Once again, he proves he\u2019s still one of the finest filmmakers of his generation. He really knocks it out of the park with this one. Well done, sir.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Side Story (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th Century\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 156 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some strong violence, strong language, thematic content, suggestive material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Steven Spielberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Tony Kushner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Leonard Bernstein\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: December 10, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Brian d\u2019Arcy James, Corey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musical"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/West-Side-Story-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9894"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10221,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894\/revisions\/10221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}