I am clearly the wrong person to be reviewing GLEE: THE CONCERT MOVIE. Not only do I think the show is poorly written and annoying but I also have always found singing to be an overrated quality. You walk into any church in America and someone in that congregation can blow the roof off. So it is to no surprise that I did not like this poor excuse to cash in on the popular phenomenon that is Glee.
The first season I was all on board as I got to hear a few of my favorite 90’s music – most notably Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison.” However, I had to wade through the mess of a storyline that has progressively gotten worse to wait for the next song. I quickly realized that no matter how fun it is to watch people sing karaoke to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” the original version is always better.
GLEE: THE CONCERT MOVIE takes all the actors from the television series and has them perform their most popular hits. The thing with Glee is that their popular hits are actually other people’s popular hits. They are the ultimate cover band capitalizing on other people’s success.
Performing some of the shows most notable songs, like “I’m A Slave 4 U,” “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “P.Y.T,” “Raise Your Glass” and “Empire State of Mind,” the cast reenacts these moments on stage as they were in the show. Even Gwyneth Paltrow makes a guest appearance to sing “Forget You.”
The actors are dressed in character as Quinn, Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, Finn, Brittany, Mercedes, Santana and Puck (poor Kevin McHale as Artie has to wheel around in his chair the whole time even though he can walk just fine) but aren’t acting in full character. I find it similar to Sesame Street on Ice where they kind of look the same but they don’t really talk.
Since the show’s popularity is based around how these characters are outsiders (and the fact that they sing everyone’s favorite tunes), between each song we learn a little about how the show has inspired some of the fans. Through short interviews and videos we learn about the struggles, growth and ultimate acceptance from a dwarf, homosexual and a person with Aspergers. These three different people tell their personal stories and how Glee has helped them accept themselves and others. This part of the pseudo documentary had the potential to be the more interesting part if only they had delve a little deeper. But this show is about the music not the fans.
This is a talented group of people. My personal favorite is the lesser-seen Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) who doesn’t sing but dances lights out all the time. Most everyone else are successful Broadway trained singers that are finally getting a real paycheck. I’m happy for them and recognize their skills. But it’s a shame their success has come in the form of cheap entertainment. Seriously, this is a Cruise ship performance. No offense to those performers but I’m not going to buy a compilation of cruise ship performers on Blu-ray nor would I recommend Glee.
BLU-RAY REVIEWS
Video: (Widescreen 1.781) Surprisingly I noticed a lot of grainy shots alternating between a clean and fuzzy picture.
Audio: (5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio) The sound is excellent, like listening to a polished concert.
Shazam: A feature that allows you to receive exclusive content straight to your mobile device during the film.
Unseen Performances (5:11): Ironically these two songs that were cut were among my favorites. Dog Days Are Over is one of my absolutely favorite songs then the guys perform an acoustic light hearted version of Friday.
Extended Performances (5:31): Slightly longer versions of a couple of the ballads.
On Stage with the Cast (5:46): Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester along with a few of the other cast members give funny introductions between some of the performances.
Backstage with the Cast (1:34): A few lame moments talking to the camera.
