I’ve wanted to see this film ever since I saw WALL•E in the theater. Several of the songs from Hello, Dolly! are used in that one, and I was curious to see the source material. I saw it as a stage production, but that was 20 years ago in high school1, so it was fun to see it and almost remember some of the songs.
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What a fun movie. From the opening sequence of people’s shoes walking in time to the music, it had me under its spell. Jerry Herman’s Oscar winning score is light and effortless in its expression of unadulterated joy. I’m not the biggest Barbra Streisand fan, but she is marvelous as Dolly. Her voice is impeccable, and she owns the music.
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Of course, Barbra isn’t the only star. Michael Crawford (above) is convincing as Cornelius, a man-child who’s never left Yonkers to explore the big city. He has a Dick Van Dyke-ish quality in his performance. It grates after awhile, but he does it well. With totally-not-gay-life partner Barnaby, Cornelius makes his way to New York City to find a couple of fag hags women to kiss2.
Walter Matthau serves as leading man, and honestly, his performance is the weakest link in Hello, Dolly! for me. Sourpuss was Matthau’s stock-and-trade, but here he is so sour that I couldn’t figure out why Dolly would be so enamored with him.
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You can definitely see director Gene Kelly’s fingerprints all over it, and Michael Kidd’s choreography meshes wonderfully with the music. The whole production is just BIG, and not just in scenes like the big parade. Even the smaller sets have a bigness to them. When set against its time (1969, when Midnight Cowboy won best picture and anti-war protests were common), Hello, Dolly! stands out as a statement of defiant optimism.
And that’s an optimism that we need to see again. Take another look at Hello, Dolly! and remind yourself of the prosperity of spirit that should accompany our daily lives. Then watch it again so you don’t forget.
1 Upon realization that it had been 20 years since I was a high school sophomore, I curled into a fetal position and slowly rocked back and forth for about an hour. ⇧
2 Oh, come on. They spend the night in the cellar together. Cornelious is 28 years old and he’s never kissed a girl. They’re going to show the girls the town “from top to bottom” then take them to a ballroom dancing competition. They may as well as have had pitcher/catcher shirts on! ⇧
