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earing about at Sunday School. He was so very real, so very human. It felt even vaguely blasphemous, but I couldn’t look away. The song duels between Judas and Jesus were especially interesting. And Judas is kinda making some sense?</p><blockquote id="ed0a"><p>But it’s sad to see our chances weakening with ev’ry hour All your followers are blind Too much heaven on their minds It was beautiful, but now it’s sour</p></blockquote><p id="5daa">I mean… yeah.</p><p id="bec2">I will say the musical doesn’t hold up all that well. It was made during the early 70s and <i>it shows</i>.</p><h1 id="9b87">3. The Greatest Showman</h1><p id="a98a">I wanted to hate this movie. I really did. The advertising blitz surrounding the film’s release left me so battered that I just wanted it to go away. Not even Wolverine was gonna get me to see it.</p><p id="7f7a">I thought I’d dodged a bullet when it left theaters. And then my daughter asked for the Blu-ray for Christmas. And then she wanted to watch it on Christmas.</p><p id="785c">So we did.</p><p id="ffcd">And then we watched it again over the weekend.</p><p id="ee10">And again the next week.</p><p id="fe43">A story where a dreamer takes the ethereal stuff of imagination and turns it into reality will never not get me. Toss in some catchy songs, beautiful production design, and great performances, and it becomes a movie I’ll gladly watch again and again.</p><h1 id="0369">2. The Sound of Music</h1><p id="d1ef">I know. I’m as surprised as you are.</p><p id="24a0">My enduring impression of this film was of Julie Andrews singing in a field, an opinion based entirely on ignorance I somehow had managed to hold onto into my 30s.</p><p id="636a">Christmas Eve probably ten years ago, my wife and I are sitting on the floor surrounded by toys and wrapping paper. I don’t remember exactly why we’d waited until the last minute to do the wrapping. But from the sheer volume of toys, we were going to be there a while. I suggested we throw on a Christmas movie.</p><p id="9ff2">We decided to just see if there was something already on TV. My wife stopped on an interesting-looking older movie involving Nazis. Not a Christmas movie, but I was immediately intrigued and didn’t mind when Julie Andrews starting singing.</p><p id="5b28">Wait a minute… Julie Andrews? “What is this?”</p><p id="01ba">“<i>The Sound of Music</i>.” She smiled as though she’d somehow tricked me.</p><p id="df96">“I thought that was a movie about spinning around in a field of grass.”</p><p id="9f3f">She wadded up a piece of wrapping paper and threw it at my head. She was right — I deserved it.</p><p id="28bc">And then she told me that it was based on a true story. The von Trapp family was real?! I peppered her with questions on commercial breaks. Their story was fascinating. <i>Why hadn’t anyone told me?</i></p><p id="0724">Let this be a lesson to you, dear reader — if something is so beloved that you’ve heard of it but have never seen it, maybe consider checking it out. Come for <i>My Favorite Things</i>, stay for a moving story of love and hope in the face of the greatest tyranny the world has ever known.</p><h1 id="f71c">1. Grease</h1><p id="ff85">My stepsisters were huge fans of <i>Grease</i>. At some point in the late 80s they made me wa

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tch it. Maybe coerced is a better word — they spent the entirety of one summer watching it on repeat and eventually wore down my resistance. As forms of torture go, it was surprisingly effective, but also pleasant? I wanted to hate it but dammit Danny Zuko has style, man.</p><blockquote id="9de4"><p>Tell me more, tell me more…</p></blockquote><p id="bce6">In the span of a couple of weeks, I went from openly scoffing at the very <i>idea</i> of watching it but secretly intrigued, to watching it ironically but secretly excited. After a few viewings, I gave up all pretense and just let it have its way with me.</p><p id="253f"><i>Grease</i> is about teenage love and sex and hot rods and slicked back hair. It’s about pretending to be one thing while secretly being something else. Danny positions himself as an alpha, a Tough Guy, but that is mostly posturing for the guys. It turns out that all of life is just posturing.</p><p id="ed5e"><i>Summer Nights</i> is also the most accurate example of he-said, she-said ever filmed.</p><blockquote id="d526"><p>He got friendly, holding my hand She got friendly down in the sand He was sweet just turned eighteen Well, she was good you know what I mean</p></blockquote><p id="59e0">Did I mention this movie is mostly about sex?</p><p id="6d6f">I don’t know how many times we watched <i>Grease</i> that summer. How many times does it take to completely memorize every song? How long does it take to fall in love? It’s probably been thirty years since I’ve watched it but I can still sing <i>You’re the One That I Want</i> at the drop of a hat.</p><p id="d790">Much to my daughter’s chagrin.</p><p id="e04a"><a href="https://ewpierce.medium.com/"><i>Eric</i></a><i> writes about pop culture <a href="https://medium.com/fan-fare">here at Medium</a> and thinks that Betty Rizzo is the bee’s knees. If you’d like to see what else he’s working on, check out <a href="http://eepurl.com/gGYaQz">his newsletter</a>.</i></p><p id="0a42">Related stories:</p><div id="f1f7" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-fantasy-and-fallacy-of-time-travel-25129aacdda4"> <div> <div> <h2>The Fantasy and Fallacy of Time Travel</h2> <div><h3>‘Back to the Future’ is a perfect movie with an imperfect message</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*rnhB1OwTn1mxXk4v_m3vHg.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="1cf5" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/im-conflicted-about-my-feelings-for-a-supervillain-e3f8473c367f"> <div> <div> <h2>I’m Conflicted About My Feelings For a Supervillain</h2> <div><h3>Zemo has done deplorable things but I kinda love him anyway</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*RYcjlvpatS3Apx-vCf9hkA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

The Five Best Musicals According to Someone Who Hates the Genre

And has seen at least five

La La Land is not on this list. I just think Gosling is dreamy. Image: Summit Entertainment

It’s not like I have a thing against singing. One of my favorite things is serenading my teenage daughter whenever she’s trapped in the car with me; she loves my rendition of Sweet Child O’ Mine.

I just have little patience for stories where the characters suddenly break-out in song. I guess I’d just rather get my dialogue and exposition the old-fashioned way.

Despite my predilections, I’ve discovered a few musicals that I genuinely like. Love, even. It’s the songs — they burrow in my head and one day I find myself singing Greased Lightnin’ for no discernible reason other than my daughter’s mortification.

Quick aside before we get to the business at hand: what’s the difference between a musical and a movie with some music, anyway? Bohemian Rhapsody is an amazing film with music, not a musical in my opinion. I guess my layman’s answer is if the music is some form of narration, it’s a musical. If the leads are the ones singing, it’s definitely a musical. Otherwise, it’s just a movie with a side of music. Disney/Pixar films walk the line as they have musical interludes that often speak directly to the story, but I consider them movies with an awful lot of songs.

I like ranking things, so in reverse order:

5. The Wizard of Oz

Is any such list complete without this movie? I think I saw it before I even really knew what a musical was.

As a kid, I was always drawn to Dorothy’s companions, especially the Tin Man. He seemed the most capable of the trio, apart from his tendency to lock up at the most inopportune times. Boy, don’t I know the feeling.

We rewatched it when our kids were little and, being honest, it doesn’t hold up well. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of the most iconic songs ever composed, and the film itself is a veritable goldmine of pop culture references, but for all that, it feels a bit clunky. I never once have thought, ‘you know what I’d really like to watch right now? The Wizard of Oz.’

I’m sure I’ll get some disagreement on this one.

4. Jesus Christ Superstar

Summer break always seemed endless, especially when you live in a rural setting and are home by yourself all day. So it happened that I found myself flipping through channels when I was 12 or 13, trying to decide between a Godzilla rerun or an episode of Gunsmoke, when I stumbled across something quite unlike either of those, something bewildering but fascinating.

Jesus Christ Superstar is basically the Gospel by way of Mad Max. By which I mean, the guys guarding Pilate have machine guns.

I was riveted.

Here was a very different Jesus than the one I grew up hearing about at Sunday School. He was so very real, so very human. It felt even vaguely blasphemous, but I couldn’t look away. The song duels between Judas and Jesus were especially interesting. And Judas is kinda making some sense?

But it’s sad to see our chances weakening with ev’ry hour All your followers are blind Too much heaven on their minds It was beautiful, but now it’s sour

I mean… yeah.

I will say the musical doesn’t hold up all that well. It was made during the early 70s and it shows.

3. The Greatest Showman

I wanted to hate this movie. I really did. The advertising blitz surrounding the film’s release left me so battered that I just wanted it to go away. Not even Wolverine was gonna get me to see it.

I thought I’d dodged a bullet when it left theaters. And then my daughter asked for the Blu-ray for Christmas. And then she wanted to watch it on Christmas.

So we did.

And then we watched it again over the weekend.

And again the next week.

A story where a dreamer takes the ethereal stuff of imagination and turns it into reality will never not get me. Toss in some catchy songs, beautiful production design, and great performances, and it becomes a movie I’ll gladly watch again and again.

2. The Sound of Music

I know. I’m as surprised as you are.

My enduring impression of this film was of Julie Andrews singing in a field, an opinion based entirely on ignorance I somehow had managed to hold onto into my 30s.

Christmas Eve probably ten years ago, my wife and I are sitting on the floor surrounded by toys and wrapping paper. I don’t remember exactly why we’d waited until the last minute to do the wrapping. But from the sheer volume of toys, we were going to be there a while. I suggested we throw on a Christmas movie.

We decided to just see if there was something already on TV. My wife stopped on an interesting-looking older movie involving Nazis. Not a Christmas movie, but I was immediately intrigued and didn’t mind when Julie Andrews starting singing.

Wait a minute… Julie Andrews? “What is this?”

“The Sound of Music.” She smiled as though she’d somehow tricked me.

“I thought that was a movie about spinning around in a field of grass.”

She wadded up a piece of wrapping paper and threw it at my head. She was right — I deserved it.

And then she told me that it was based on a true story. The von Trapp family was real?! I peppered her with questions on commercial breaks. Their story was fascinating. Why hadn’t anyone told me?

Let this be a lesson to you, dear reader — if something is so beloved that you’ve heard of it but have never seen it, maybe consider checking it out. Come for My Favorite Things, stay for a moving story of love and hope in the face of the greatest tyranny the world has ever known.

1. Grease

My stepsisters were huge fans of Grease. At some point in the late 80s they made me watch it. Maybe coerced is a better word — they spent the entirety of one summer watching it on repeat and eventually wore down my resistance. As forms of torture go, it was surprisingly effective, but also pleasant? I wanted to hate it but dammit Danny Zuko has style, man.

Tell me more, tell me more…

In the span of a couple of weeks, I went from openly scoffing at the very idea of watching it but secretly intrigued, to watching it ironically but secretly excited. After a few viewings, I gave up all pretense and just let it have its way with me.

Grease is about teenage love and sex and hot rods and slicked back hair. It’s about pretending to be one thing while secretly being something else. Danny positions himself as an alpha, a Tough Guy, but that is mostly posturing for the guys. It turns out that all of life is just posturing.

Summer Nights is also the most accurate example of he-said, she-said ever filmed.

He got friendly, holding my hand She got friendly down in the sand He was sweet just turned eighteen Well, she was good you know what I mean

Did I mention this movie is mostly about sex?

I don’t know how many times we watched Grease that summer. How many times does it take to completely memorize every song? How long does it take to fall in love? It’s probably been thirty years since I’ve watched it but I can still sing You’re the One That I Want at the drop of a hat.

Much to my daughter’s chagrin.

Eric writes about pop culture here at Medium and thinks that Betty Rizzo is the bee’s knees. If you’d like to see what else he’s working on, check out his newsletter.