West Side Story 2021 (Read 234 times)

[Kpatch]

The original West Side Story is my favorite movie ever.

Who has seen the 2021 version and what did you think?

[heroicmuse]

Haven't seen it yet but I really want to! I'll report back when I do LOL. I've heard great things about it.

[Kpatch]

heroicmuse, so have I. The public seems to love it. The critics not so much. I'm planning to see it next week.

[Kpatch]

I saw the movie Tuesday. Here is my lengthy review.


The 2021 version lacks heart and sympathy. The characters are neither likeable nor relatable.

Riff and Tony seem to dislike each other and this is a big flaw of the film. Their relationship is pivotal. It’s the reason Tony reacts the way he does when Bernardo stabs Riff. He doesn’t even think. He just has to avenge his “brother’s” death immediately and he stabs Bernardo as an emotional reaction. That motivation is missing in the 2021 version.

The new Maria has a beautiful singing voice but she is not likeable. She’s pretty nasty in fact. There’s barely any chemistry between her and Tony. I found Tony to be the only rootable character in the whole film.

Yes, they fleshed out a backstory for the characters but it wasn’t needed.

The 1961 version had a beauty, elegance, grace and even innocence. I cared about the characters. I fell in love with Natalie Wood’s Maria and it’s why I chose the name Natalie as my pen name (Natalie Brock).

Rita Moreno’s role was too large in the remake and showed how big her ego still is at 90. No way should she have sung Somewhere. It HAD to be sung by Tony and Maria. They were fantasizing a place where they could still be together, knowing deep-down it was impossible. Heartbreaking. It was for the couple to sing, not the shopkeeper.

Anita in church singing about how hot Bernardo will be after the fight is intentionally disrespectful to the church itself.

Something’s Coming was so claustrophic being sung inside the drug store to the shopkeeper. Tony was having big dreams and he needed to be outdoors to make it work.

The songs were in a very odd order. I hated the gun ballet.

There was also too much dialogue in Spanish. No subtitles. No explanation in English. Yes, it was realistic, but being that I don’t speak any Spanish, it was lost on me and most of the audience. When Chino came to Gimbels to tell Maria that Bernardo was dead, that whole sequence was in Spanish, which destroyed what should have been a very emotional moment.

And speaking of the Sharks, where were they? In the original you knew their names and their faces. They were absent in this movie. There was way more focus on the Jets in the remake, which made the conflict feel unbalanced.

Am I comparing this to the original too much? Probably but you can’t not compare it to the original. The original was perfect, legendary. I’ve seen it at least a hundred times. It's my all time favorite musical. Even so, I went into this movie expecting it to be fabulous. I had a completely open mind. It was about 1/3 of the way in when I realized I wasn’t really enjoying it. The music, sure. The music is and always will be classic. But this is one film that did not need to be remade. I’m really glad I saw it though. Otherwise I would have thought I was missing something special.

Edited to add: I felt like I just HAD to see the original right away to wash the taste of the remake out of my memory. Luckily, it was on TCM today as part of a commemoration of Russ Tamblyn’s (Riff’s) 87th birthday.

[soaps4ever]

Thank you Kpatch for reviewing the new version of West Side Story. I knew it probably wouldn't compare to the original (which I love) and it sounds like it doesn't. Glad Rita Moreno could have a role in it though.