Bye Bye Birdie

Other than "Hair", this is the only musical that I can watch and totally enjoy. I assumed everyone who saw this movie also loved it, but my fellow reviewers seem to have missed the boat on this one. From the corny songs Conrad sings ("Gotta Be Sincere"), to Paul Lynde's mugging, to Ann-Margret, this movie is unsurpassed. Maureen Stapleton and Janet Leigh are great also and the best song is "Ed Sullivan", in my opinion.

Big singing star Conrad Birdie (obviously a parody of Elvis Presley) is being drafted. He's to give one last kiss to a fan (Ann-Margret) throwing her life, and her family's, into turmoil. Energetic, colorful musical. The script is sharp and the performances on target. There are many great songs (title tune, "The Telephone Hour", "Honestly Sincere", "Put On A Happy Face", "Kids") which take full advantage of the wide screen (letter-boxed is a must). The dancing and singing is all great. Ann-Margret is young, beautiful and bursting with life; Paul Lynde is hilarious as her father; Maureen Stapleton is loud and overbearing (but she's supposed to be); Dick Van Dyke is OK; Janet Leigh is great; Bobby Rydell is just annoying. A bit dated (the Ed Sullivan references will be lost on young kids) but still fun. Well worth seeing. "Daddy, it's my hair!" "Not until you're 21!"

While much of this Broadway hit has been altered for the film version, it doesn't really matter. The theatrical film production of "Bye Bye Birdie", is leaps and bounds of fun, over its stage counterpart (and the wretched TV remake). Every cast member gives it their all, with scene stealing performances from Paul Lynde (from the Broadway cast) and Maureen Stapleton. Dick Van Dyke (from the Broadway cast) and Janet Leigh are wonderful as Albert and Rosie, Bobby Rydell, proves that he can act and dance, as well as sing; but it is Ann-Margret who caused such a sensation, when the film was released. She may not exactly look like any sixteen year old you know, but she's just plain perfect in the role. The musical numbers (choreographed by Onna White), are exceptional. Every one of them is a highlight. This is one of the best screen musicals, ever. Don't miss it!

Bye Bye Birdie is so ridiculous that it's endearing. From the campy acting to the silly songs to the outlandish story, I found myself caught up in the excitement of this classic musical. This movie knows what it is, and it revels in it. It's also genuinely funny. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. I gotta be sincere, this movie still holds up decades after it was made.

I tend to agree with Alice from Orlando regarding this film. While "Bye Bye, Birdie" is a terrific film with terrific performances, viewed today, it's also a tribute to an era that we'll never get back. I completely agree with those historians who feel that 1953 - 1963, the ten year period between the end of the Korean War and that dark day in Dallas, was the last real "Era of Good Feeling" in American history. By and large, we knew who we were, what we were, and where we were going. Then came political assasination, the "Summer of Love," Viet Nam, Watergate, et. al., and we have a society that's not sure of anything anymore. Happily, there are films like "Bye Bye, Birdie," made during the apex of the 1953-63 period, to remind those of us who came of age during that era what we've lost, and to show those who weren't there what it was like. Would that we all had a Sweetapple, Ohio, to go back to again.

This musical, for those of us who were of the age then, represents a time and a place we thought would not end. Entering our early teens in suburbia, begat of young war veterans, the biggest issues in our lives were those reflected in this film; who pinned who and the adulation of our musical icons. The whole world was Sweet Apple and "someday we would find out this was what life was all about" as Kim sings to a befuddled Hugo. Even nerds could fall in love. And an equal force in our weekly lives was the Sunday ritual of The Ed Sullivan Show. This is a beautiful homage to that world that would end seven months later in Dallas and bring with it the counter culture, riots and Viet Nam. Hard to put on a happy face... But you will with this score. More fifties and Bosa Nova then the hip sixties it is toe tapping and gets under your skin. Worth repeat viewings. And as always "I gotta be sincere..if you feel it in here.." and I still do.

Instead of an adaptation of the original musical, it might be better to think of this movie as "A Variation on the Theme of Bye Bye Birdie." I've loved it since I was a kid and I don't really care how much or how little it's been changed. As a work standing on it's own it is wonderful, goofy, and good fun. An excellent piece of musical film-making. The casting is superb and I still laugh throughout the movie. Dated? Somewhat. Perhaps only superficially. 'N Sync was just in town and their effect here makes me think there's something fundamentally timeless about the behavior of teenage girls. I've heard it was the same when Frank Sinatra was a young singer. And there may be something timeless about us guys too... I'm still a sucker for the beginning and ending with Ann-Margret singing. She opens the movie sounding like a whining petulant little girl and at the end her reprise is as a worldly sophisticated sex-kitten. Just too cool.