All That Jazz
(1979)
Not a perfect film, but damn, it has a lot of perfect moments. Including one I resisted the first time I saw it, death-as-another-nine-minute-production-number. I've also grown to appreciate Jessica Lange as "Angelique" a lot more than I used to. Hell, I don't know: maybe it is a perfect film.
My unabashedly sentimental favorite is the "Everything Old Is New Again" dance that Joe's girlfriend and daughter perform for him. The girlfriend, of course, is played by Fosse's longtime real-life girlfriend Ann Reinking. But I always wonder what happened to the kid, and this time I finally went to IMDb to answer that question. The answer is: this was Erzsebet Foldi's only film: "Tried out for The Blue Lagoon (1980); then left show business and became a Born Again Christian," though elsewhere we're told she "joined Twyla Tharp Dance in 1986." At any rate, assuming she's still among us, she's in her 40s now. She coulda been somebody; she coulda been a contender. But given how many souls showbiz has stolen from Jesus, I suppose it's only fair he gets one back now and then.
By the way, I am for the second year running shamelessly ripping off Dave Kehr's Carpetbagger Oscar picks. They won for me last year, and they could have won for me the previous year had I not thought I knew better in a few categories. Actually, I think I do know better in the animated and live-action shorts, so maybe I'll go with my picks there--and thus undermine my chances of winning again.
1 comment:
There are many times in life when All That Jazz is the only thing standing between me and insanity. I think it is largely the "It's showtime" segments, which is precisely how I feel every day I have to teach.
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