patjohnson76's Movie Reviews (400)

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Nine (2009) 
Succeeds some, but fails some too
3/4 stars

Rob Marshall, director of the successful film version of the musical Chicago, tries to strike gold twice with his film adaptation of the musical Nine. Some things work, some things don't.

FIrst off, if you don't like musicals it's doubtful that you'll like Nine. It's not a happy story, though the film version isn't as dark as the stage version. It tells the story of Guido, a director desperately trying to find inspiration for his latest film but being haunted by the women of his past and present. As he did with Chicago, Marshall films the musical numbers as fantasies of the protagonist, and this is one area that's a little confusing. How could someone who's struggling to find inspiration and creativity imagine such extravagant and wonderful musical numbers? Though that is a gripe of mine, those numbers are effectively done, particularly Fergie's "Be Italian" and Kate Hudson's "Cinema Italiano". Apparently Marshall felt the same way, as these songs play over the credits.

The film is well cast, particularly Lewis in the lead, Cotillard as his emotionally suffering wife, and Cruz as his mistress. Though things are disjointed at times, and the elaborate numbers at time seem out of place, Nine is a good viewing, particularly if you were a fan of Chicago.

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