LogFAQs > #932946819

32. South Pacific

Karo: 19
Johnbobb: 23
Genny: 24
Scarlet: 24
KBM: 32
Inviso: 33
JONA: 34

Karo - The acclaimed Rogers & Hammerstein musical about tropical islands and lens filter effects.
There are two storylines, a romance between a nurse and a fugitive frenchman, and some soldiers trying to get to a fabled island which is apparently like a magical brothel or something.
Basically the movie follows these two plots as they entangle with each other and WWII, and then the whole world turns a bright yellow or magenta for no reason.
Much like 'The King and I', it paradoxically seems like it wants to be culturally progressive while still promoting ignorant stereotypes. They spend the whole movie trying to make up for 'herro rewtenant, you soh saxxy!' and maybe about break even.

Score: 57/100

Best Song: 'There is Nothing Like a Dame'

Johnbobb - I can really appreciate this movie for what it attempts to do, especially given the time period in which it attempts to do it. The Polynesian stereotypes don't hold up so well, but the message does, as do the majority of the songs. "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy" will always have a spot in my mind, but you can blame Fallout 4 for that. "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" is funny and also gets bonus points for inspiring the best scene from Hail, Caesar! Bloody Mary is great, but unfortunately I didn't end up really caring about the rest of the central characters. That was really what stopped me from liking it more than I did. As nice as things like the message and coloring decisions were, I just wasn't invested much in the main story.
Favorite song: There is Nothing Like a Dame

Genny - I don't know what I enjoyed the most about South Pacific. Bloody Mary's antics were entertaining even when they included trying to marry her daughter off to a random "saxy" marine, and a few of the numbers are undeniably catchy (can definitely waggle my finger to Bali Ha'i). While not my favorite aspect, the bizarre use of color filters during the songs put a smile on my face.

Scarlet - South Pacific is boring, but I am always enchanted by the Rodgers and Hammerstein music. Some Enchanted Evening remains in my head forever and always, melancholy and sweet, always making the world a little misty for me.
Best Song: Some Enchanted Evening

KBM - Why I Chose It: Rodgers and Hammerstein's enduring hit musical about American troops in the South Pacific during World War II won ten Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize for its original 1949 Broadway run, and its 2008 Broadway revival also proved a huge success, winning seven Tonys of its own. After the success of the film adaptations of Oklahoma! in 1955 and Carousel in 1956, Joshua Logan, who co-authored the musical's book with Hammerstein, was hired to direct the film adaptation. It was a smash hit, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1958 by far, and receiving three Oscar nominations, winning the award for Best Sound.

My Thoughts: The best thing I can say about this movie is that its heart seems to be in the right place. But egad, is it dull. Full disclosure: I have never been a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan, although I'm willing to admit South Pacific, for all its flaws, is one of their better shows. But man, between the painfully literal, nearly beat-for-beat reenactment of the stage show, the weird, pointless color gels, the incredibly flat direction that half the time just leaves the performers awkwardly delivering their songs straight to the camera, and the added dialogue material on the airplanes, this one's an outright chore to sit through. That's to say nothing about the distracting dubbing (everyone but Mitzi Gaynor and Ray Walston not coincidentally the two best performances in the movie is dubbed by someone who sounds nothing like their speaking voice), and Rossano Brazzi's Emile de Becque being the most obviously Italian Frenchman in the world. And yeah, even though its heart is in the right place, the movie still falls victim to the... let's say questionable stereotypes that are very much a part of the show. (Happy Talk is always painful, and usually gets cut from the show these days, and I was wincing every time Bloody Mary called Cable Lootellan.) At least the shooting of the on-location scenery is nice. Fun facts: when I was in film school, the Bali Ha'i musical number was shown as an example of how not to direct a scene.

Favorite Song: Some Enchanted Evening
Least Favorite Song: I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love I'm in love with a wonderful guyyyyyyyy

Inviso - Holy SHIT this movie was fucking boring. I mean, its possible to set a movie in a bland and serious setting (see: Les Miserables), but this failed on every goddamn level. Its attempts at injecting humor via the comic relief fail miserably. The Bloody Mary character, however it may have played back in the fifties, is uncomfortably racists to my, modern mind. The songs are completely forgettable, except for the one that I only know because Ive played Fallout 3. The plot is near-nonexistent: you have a nurse who falls in love with a French guy, but cant marry him because shes racist against his half-Asian children. And you have a lieutenant who seems like he SHOULD be the main character, but his whole role is to be kinda nice to the native population, but uncomfortable with relationships with them. Andits just really dumb and its a complete slog to get through. I hope this does poorly in the overall ranking.

JONA - So close to having Rodgers and Hammerstein being last in both musical lists. What ends up saving this is the interesting setting. Sadly, the dull two-and-a-half-hour movie is pretty much about two uninteresting relationships, with four uninteresting characters. Two of them barely know each other and one of them is sad that she cant get over her racism. Emile and Bloody Mary are alright though. The songs can be okay as well.
Favorite Song: I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair