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"Colma: The Musical" is a melding of the hometown values found in movies like "Meet Me in St. Louis," the anarchy of the Marx Brothers’ "Duck Soup" and the independent, free-wheeling spirit and don’t-give-a-damn attitude of "Slacker."
The movie is set in Colma, Calif., just south of San Francisco which is known for the fact that for every person living there, there are 1,000 who are dead there. Colma is the home of 17 different cemeteries for humans and one for pets. William Randolph Hearst is buried there. So is Wyatt Earp. And Joe DiMaggio.
But the movie is not about dead people. Just the opposite. It tells the story of three recent high school graduates — Billy (Jake Moreno), who is trying to get over a bad romance and aspires to be an actor; Rodel (H.P. Mendoza), who is gay and trying to keep his father (Larry Soriano) from finding that out; and Maribel (L.A. Renigen), who serves as the common-sense link between Billy and Rodel when she is not partying and having no-strings-attached sex. Billy and Rodel are not happy in Colma; Maribel seems at peace with her fate there.
These three often find themselves singing, but not in the way you find in most movie musicals, when it just seems like a major production number bursts from the seams of a particular scene. These folks just seem to slip naturally into song and the choreography that surrounds the tunes (men in black suits waltzing with women in white dresses in a cemetery, guys doing cartwheels down the block while Billy sings of his new love) feels as unforced as the songs themselves.
Which brings me to the songs, which are not so much songs as they are words these characters would actually say at the particular moment in the film set to music. I guess this is because Mendoza, who wrote the movie’s script, also composed its songs. Richard Wong, a friend of Mendoza’s from college, directed, shot and edited the film and he does some neat things with split screens here.
The movie looks as if it were made using what was left of the stars’ parents’ credit cards, although don’t take that as a negative. It has an R rating, solely because the language here is the street language of teenagers (and the language extends to the songs as well, adding a sense of whimsical credibility).
"Colma: The Musical" works because it uses its songs for self-expressions and its script for self-discoveries. Unlike "Hairspray," it doesn’t flood you with good feelings; it sort of sneaks up behind you and gives you a hug.
The movie is set in Colma, Calif., just south of San Francisco which is known for the fact that for every person living there, there are 1,000 who are dead there. Colma is the home of 17 different cemeteries for humans and one for pets. William Randolph Hearst is buried there. So is Wyatt Earp. And Joe DiMaggio.
But the movie is not about dead people. Just the opposite. It tells the story of three recent high school graduates — Billy (Jake Moreno), who is trying to get over a bad romance and aspires to be an actor; Rodel (H.P. Mendoza), who is gay and trying to keep his father (Larry Soriano) from finding that out; and Maribel (L.A. Renigen), who serves as the common-sense link between Billy and Rodel when she is not partying and having no-strings-attached sex. Billy and Rodel are not happy in Colma; Maribel seems at peace with her fate there.
These three often find themselves singing, but not in the way you find in most movie musicals, when it just seems like a major production number bursts from the seams of a particular scene. These folks just seem to slip naturally into song and the choreography that surrounds the tunes (men in black suits waltzing with women in white dresses in a cemetery, guys doing cartwheels down the block while Billy sings of his new love) feels as unforced as the songs themselves.
Which brings me to the songs, which are not so much songs as they are words these characters would actually say at the particular moment in the film set to music. I guess this is because Mendoza, who wrote the movie’s script, also composed its songs. Richard Wong, a friend of Mendoza’s from college, directed, shot and edited the film and he does some neat things with split screens here.
The movie looks as if it were made using what was left of the stars’ parents’ credit cards, although don’t take that as a negative. It has an R rating, solely because the language here is the street language of teenagers (and the language extends to the songs as well, adding a sense of whimsical credibility).
"Colma: The Musical" works because it uses its songs for self-expressions and its script for self-discoveries. Unlike "Hairspray," it doesn’t flood you with good feelings; it sort of sneaks up behind you and gives you a hug.
GRADE: B+
1 comment:
I find your DVD reviews fascinating and very useful, particularly since virtually all the DVD reviews and many of the movie reviews in Dallas' Only Daily are wire reviews, without a personal touch. You convinced me to rent "Colma: The Musical" as an entertaining balm during the holiday madness. I had seen "Hairspray" and "Paris Je T'aime" at the movie houses, and your reviews brought back a flood of warm memories. Dallas needs your reviews.
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