When RCA instroduced their ill-fated CED player and discs, we bought one and rented this film. The sound was mono-only (the player - not the movie), but we loved the story and yes, it gets a little hokey when "Jess" goes off on his own, but get over it - he's having a mid-life crisis! He's trying to reconcile the loss of family and sees his relationship with Molly as the cause of it all (which, of course, it is). Since those days of the CED player, we went to tape and now to the DVD. The music and story are about opportunities and the rough times people have to go through and there's nothing better than the strong stereo soundtrack on a good home theater system.
The acting isn't as bad as the critics make it out and the same for the script. All you have to do is look at the lame action-adventure films produced from the same time period and you'll see some pretty bad scripting and acting (look at Sheena - I know, totally beyond comparison) with Tanya Roberts - the almost always excellent Gena Davis and Matthew Modine in Cutthroat Island - and I could go on about films that are just a notch below where they could have been, had the scripting (and acting) been better. I really have to wonder what folks are comparing the acting to, when they pan a story like this? Even Star Wars has dead and wooden acting in comparison!
Diamond's performance isn't wooden, but low-key and relaxed. Olivier's accent comes across almost Scottish, but is still acceptable. Jess's wife comes across as envious and almost dispicable, but given her willingness to marry a Cantor's son, knowing that her husband would also be a Cantor (G-d doesn't pay so good), is remarkable and Jess doesn't know what he's giving up. But, he has a dream and wants to share it with his wife and with his family. It is his relationship, which is growing out of frustration with his wife and father, that causes him to see Molly as the only hope he has for a _better_ future. What he failed to realize is that to realize that future, he must make some terrible sacrifices and when he's finally faced with them in the form of his father tearing the cloth of his clothing, he goes into a deep depression and runs to hide his shame.
Finally, realizing that life must go on, he looks for the only kind of work he knows - singing out in the desert. Ah, the symbolism - something that people just plain miss. Ironically, there is more present than most people see - and it is the infant child which brings salvation and reconciliation to the family. I'm not sure the writers were aware of the implications of that one.
Is the film great? Well, I'm not about to give it five (of five) stars, but we liked it well enough that we bought the Artisan DVD. While not quite a musical, in the traditional sense, this one comes close. I like the music and the story. If you stop to look beyond the here and now, it is a very good story and movie. A solid four stars in my book.
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