Movie #18- "The Music Man" (1962)

The musical.  A genre that I have very little experience with and one that I enjoy more on stage than in film.  I think my opinions of the musical may have been developed in high school.  Apparently when you audition for a part, you need the ability to carry a tune.  Since my singing is rather limited, I was relegated to the smaller, non-singing, non-dancing roles.  For this project, I was sooner or later going to have to leave my comfort zone and jump right into the musical.
"The Music Man" is the favorite of a friend and co-worker.  While she is several years younger than me, she loves the musicals from the 40s, 50s, and 60s.  I often joke with her about being born in the wrong era.  So for my first musical, I let her make the choice.
In watching "The Music Man", I was a bit conflicted.  It seems that a lot of the musicals from that time take place in a simpler and idealistic America.  I had to take that into consideration, knowing that it would be a combination of charming and corny.  I was surprised with my familiarity of the music and songs.  Robert Preston played Professor Harold Hill on Broadway and it shows as he dominates every scene he's in.  Meanwhile, Shirley Jones basically outsings everyone else.  Unfortunately, I didn't find the rest of the cast that interesting (sorry Buddy Hackett) and while the director offers some different perspectives using camera angles, it generally feels like the filmed version of a stage show.
If it's any consolation, I didn't dislike "The Music Man" as much as I feared.  I can appreciate the effort.

Rating: 6/10
Movies I've previously seen: 2
First time viewings: 16