A Very Overblown Jukebox Musical

As I have noted before, I am not a fan of musicals. I tend to find them to be bloated and slow, spending time on songs that stretch out character beats that could be handled in a few seconds of dialogue. I know the counter-argument to that is that the song sets the mood and can convey longing, desire, heartache, misery, and all kinds of other emotions. I agree. Songs can do that. But you know what else can do that as well? Acting, and then I don’t have to uncomfortably sit and watch someone sing about how much they want someone without ever, you know, telling them how they feel. It bothers me.

Occasionally, though, a musical does sneak past, catching my attention. It’s usually because the musical has a solid mix of things I can appreciate: character development, pace, good music, and not wasting my time on things that could just be said. When a musical can do all that and still be a musical, I’m willing to pay attention. That list for me is small, largely consisting of South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, Chicago, and that musical episode of Buffy, “Once More with Feeling”. And you can make the count four because while I know it’s not the best loved musical, and many people outright dislike it, I kind of enjoy Moulin Rouge!

Released in 2001, the film was Bas Luhrman’s grand follow-up to his massively successful Shakespear adaptation, Romeo + Juliet from 1996. It acts as the conclusion of his “red curtain trilogy”, following both Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom, and was to be his biggest, and most successful movie, yet. Depending on how you judge success that could be true because, in many ways, this is the peak development of Luhrman’s bombastic and theatrical style. However, it was only a modest success at the Box Office, bringing in “only” $179.2 Mil against its $50 Mil budget, which was, up to that point, Luhrman’s most expensive movie yet (his previous costing $3 Mil AUS for Strictly Ballroom and $14 Mil for Romeo + Juliet). Against that, many dismissed this as Luhrman’s first bomb.

Whether that’s fair or not really depends on how you view the film itself. Moulin Rouge! is a film of excess, big and loud and packed with a lot. It’s full of theatricality and artifice, feeling both like a movie and a stage production at the same time. Luhrman blends all the elements together – a massive cast, a ton of songs, elaborately staged production numbers – to create a very vibrant, constantly moving production. From a technical level it is awe inspiring. For some, it’s a movie you have to behold. For others, though, it’s a blaring, obnoxious movie that never knows when to quit or let its characters just… be. Honestly, I can see both arguments, but I still like the film.

Moulin Rouge! follows Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young writer who is grief-stricken over the death of someone he cares for. A year earlier he moved to Paris to be part of the life there so he could write his great epic. But while there he gets sucked into the night life of the town, making friends with a troupe of performers. Christian agrees to help them write their play, Spectacular Spectacular, with the hopes of selling it to Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), the proprietor of the Moulin Rouge. But for Zidler to get the money to convert his adult club into a proper theater he needs the financing of the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh), and to get that financing the Duke wants Satine (Nicole Kidman), the club’s premiere dancer.

Through a series of mistakes, Christian ends up having the meeting with Satine that the Duke was supposed to have, and the two fall instantly in love with each other. But both still want to see the play happen, so Satine has to fake being in love with the Duke while, secretly, she’s also sleeping with Christian every night. It’s a comedy of errors, a story of love, but also one that turns dramatic very quickly once the Duke finds out about the whole affair. Threatening to kill Christian he gives Satine an ultimatum: choose the Duke or watch her lover die. And with a secret Satine is hiding, she only has one choice. But can love win the day even with an angry Duke and a life on the line?

Make no mistake, Moulin Rouge! is an overstuffed and overblown film. I am a defender of the movie and I will absolutely agree that the film has a ton going on in it, almost too much. It feels imbalanced, especially at the start, with a first act that isn’t just hyper but nearly obnoxious. This is especially true when it comes to Satine, who is loud, squeaky, and annoying, all because she’s putting on a front for someone she thinks is a Duke (and this is the best way to seduce him, she thinks). Whenever I’ve had friends watch the film I have to warn them that, on first viewing, the first act is rough and you have to push through to get to the good stuff.

Not that I mind the first act on repeat viewings. Knowing where the film is going and how it’s all going to come together, I get why the first act is the way it is. It’s part of the charm of the film, just how frenetic and overblown that first act is, all so it can settle you in and get you comfortable with its storytelling style. It is a lot, I don’t disagree, but that’s part of what it eventually works: everything about this film is a lot, and to embrace Moulin Rouge! you have to be prepared for how frenetic it can be.

At the same time, so much of its production is charming. It has elaborate sets used to stage multi-point scenes. Layers upon layers of practical effects imbue every sequence. The film is constantly moving, shifting from one set piece to another in a way that no theatrical production could, all while still maintaining a certain air of being a stage production. It’s a lot, but it’s artistically done and so creative that once you get the feel for the film it’s hard to deny how well it all works.

The other knock against the film, fair or not, is that it’s a jukebox musical. Most of the songs (although not all) are arrangements and samples of popular music. This includes, often times incongruously, Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”, David Bowie’s cover of “Nature Boy”, Madonna’s “Material Girl” and “Like a Virgin”, a cover of “Lady Marmalade”, and even Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. These songs come often, and I wouldn’t say they all work (again, especially in that first act), but eventually the blend of familiar songs mix with interesting arrangements, as well as a couple of new tracks, all pull together to make the soundtrack unforgettable, if not always completely successful.

And whatever other flaws the film has, the performances do help to redeem it. There’s an earnestness in the performances of McGregor and Kidman as the two sell a star-crossed lovers story with both falling instantly for the other. Without these two in the lead slots it’s hard to imagine the film working so well. Hell, reportedly Leonardo DiCaprio (who starred in Romeo + Juliet) tried to get the role of Christian and was turned down. There was a specific vision for these characters, and I agree with the production team that McGregor and Kidman were the perfect pair.

Moulin Rouge! isn’t perfect, but it is a blast to watch. It’s loud and constantly frenetic, always moving and shifting and dragging you along. For some that might seem like too much, but it struck a chord with me. It’s one of the rare musicals I like, which truly is a special thing. I can’t recommend it for everyone, but for those that like a different kind of musical, or for those that are fans of bombastic theatricality and over-the-top artistry, there’s no denying there’s something special about Moulin Rouge!