“We was beat when we was born.”

I needed this one pretty bad (and again, I’m totally behind, this was before this past weekend). It’s amazing how many of my thoughts, things I’ve written this past week or so in places I can’t even link to such is the world, came together while I was watching this movie, as if someone up there, call it the movie god, was watching down and decided to send me a message saying, “you’re not alone on that, don’t worry.” (gugh, sorry if that was cryptic – I’d make it less so by way of more words but I really just need to post these straggling reviews while I’ve the urge)

“I’m just not used to having whether I stay or whether I go matter to anybody …”

The songs don’t come as thick and fast as I’d like, I found my focus drifting somewhere towards the end of the second act (speaking in 3-act movie terms, not 2-act theatrical terms, lol) – it would I think work ever so slightly better as the 90 minute TV movie musical like Annie or A Christmas Carol. But once the pace picks up again at the end – boy oh boy does it ever pick up, from “Once and for All”, the reprise of “And the World Will Know” all the way up until the end credits.

I’m not often stirred by things like this but like I said it just spoke volumes to my current concerns with how people are freely allowing their senses to be beaten down by keywords in the media that genuinely amount to brainwashing. The sight of Robert Duvall as Pulitzer with his fingers in his ears to the crowd of truth outside his building is seriously almost more music to my eyes than Alan Menken’s songs are to my ears.

“I can’t afford to be a kid no more.”

It’s really just one of those movies that, despite its flaws, when it hits its highs, of which there are many, it honestly feels like there needn’t be another movie in the cosmos. I keep going back to the lyrics of Once and For All this evening – nevermind the wonder of Alan Menken (god, I was tearing up almost before the picture had finished fading in with his opening notes, lol), if I’m honest Jack Feldman’s work is what deserves praising more here. Seriously if we could have just one or two movies a year with as much passion in them as there is there, the world would be a better place.