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24 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Great Cast in Underrated Gem, 16 January 2005 Author: drednm
Wonderful music and terrific English performers make this spoof of 30s musicals a must. Twiggy is wonderful as the understudy who must fill in for the injured star (Glenda Jackson in a funny cameo). And a Hollywood big shot is in the audience.... Hmmmm. Superb turns by Antonia Ellis as Maisie, Christopher Gable as Tony, and the rest: Max Adrian, Georgina Hale, Moyra Fraser, Barbara Windsor, Bryan Pringle, Catherine Willmer, Tommy Tune, and Murray Melvin. Great sets and costumes and all those musical numbers. Twiggy (yes, she can sing and dance) and Tune teamed up on Broadway years later in Me and My Girl. And this is the show that made a star of Julie Andrews on Broadway in 1954. Great Sandy Wilson show made into a glorious film by Ken Russell. His gentle spoof of 30s musicals, including the famous Busby Berkley dance routines and many inside jokes and lines from 30s musicals make this a total treat for fans of the genre. Jackson's "now go out there and be so great.... you'll make me hate you," is a direct quote from 42nd St, where Bebe Daniels says the line to Ruby Keeler. Also with Graham Armitage, Caryl Little, Sally Bryant, Brian Murphy, Vladel Shaybal as DeThrill, and Peter Greenwell as the pianist (who won an Oscar nomination for his orchestration). What fun! And one of Russell's best films.Ken Russell takes a straightforward show and adds layers by having characters imagine bigtime Hollywood versions of the small touring company's musical numbers. This opens up the movie and makes for a dazzling spectacle of music, dance, and color. But without terrific performances, this would all be for nothing. Twiggy is really good as the shy Polly the stand-in. She and Christopher Gable make a nice dance team in several numbers. Max Adrian and Catherine Willmer are hilarious as the troop manager and his wife Hilda, as are Moyra Fraser and Bryan Pringle as the haughty star and his wife. My favorites are Antonia Ellis as the ferocious Maisie, Georgina Hale as the fog-horn voiced Fay, and Barbara Windsor as busty Hortense. The music is great. Twiggy gets to sing "You Are My Lucky Star" and "All I Do the Whole Day Through." Hale and Adrian are memorable in "Never Too Old to Fall in Love." Fraser and Pringle are fun in "You Don't Want to Play with Me Blues," and the closing "Doing the Riviera" is a fond homage to Berkley with the famous chorus girls on winged plane number. Also love "The Boy Friend," "We're Perfect Young Ladies," "Nicer in Niece," "A Room in Bloomsbury," "Fancy Your Forgetting," and "Sur La Plage."THE BOY FRIEND is a fond and loving spoof of old-time musicals and beautifully done. A must-see for all fans of classic musicals.
13 out of 14 people found the following review useful: truly hilarious, 21 February 2004 Author: ptb-8 from Australia
As hilarious today as it was in 1971, this much loved comedy is probably to musicals what Blazing Saddles is to westerns. I know that might sound odd but the analogy describes how much of a very funny send up of Busby Berkeley musicals and wobbly British seaside theatre this film really is. I saw the longer 139 min version in a 1997 reissue in Australia, and it actually is not as tidy as the shorter 109 min version originally released, It is too excessive and impromptu (cast laughing etc) whereas the shorter version does work better. However it does allow for 2 more songs and some extras in the dance numbers that you will want to see... Twiggy is gorgeous, the art direction superb and the end result hilarious and charming. Interestingly it was made because MGM fumbled the possibility of a straight stage reworking with Julie Andrews (she made Thoroughly Modern Millie instead), and by 1968 the world went to hell in the Vietnam war and street riots. The Boyfriend has aged well, and so has Twiggy. Alert viewers will see some of the same clothes previously in Women In Love because Shirley Russell used to buy the real 1920s garments from London markets and used them in several films her husband made. BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS is a good 2003 equivalent in art direction and style.
10 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Absolutely Brilliant, 10 January 2006 Author: westegg from New York
I'm delighted to read of people discovering and praising this film right through to the present, and I'm both amused and appalled by those who find this film somehow terrible. Since I first saw it in 1971, I've always considered it an absolutely brilliant tour de force; how many musicals in the last 40 years have matched its unique energy and visual inventiveness? Sure, it kind of ransacks the original Sandy Wilson musical, but I think a conventional, strictly faithful film version would not have worked as well. This one has a streak of genius throughout, thanks to director Ken Russell, cast and crew. Twiggy is the charming heart of the film; kind of like an Alice in Wonderland amid all the colorful backstage madness. She emotionally anchors the film with her vulnerability. Practically every scene has a memorable flourish, and it's consistently witty. So few musicals capture this kind of spirit. It's a shame it isn't on DVD, but maybe there's hope for Blu-Ray? Ignore the naysayers. Try and catch it on TCM.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Surprising Wonderful!!, 14 April 2006 Author: uncadonald39 from Seattle, WA
Ken Russell's homage to Hollywood Musicals of the early years, while outrageous as usual, is remarkably enjoyable. It was ruined in its American release by MGM's James Aubrey's hack job--he cut almost 30 minutes out of the film. Not merely content to cut entire numbers, he laid his heavy hand on every single number and scene, eliminating 30 seconds here, 2 minutes there, until nothing had been spared his hatchet. His reasoning was that no one wanted to see a two and a half hour musical. Besides he could get another showing in if he cut it. Wasn't it a surprise when the film bombed in the States?! Elsewhere it was a smash hit. With the cut footage restored, the VHS print shows, particularly, the salutes to Busby Berkeley and other early musicals. Twiggy is charming; Tommy Tune as the giant American hoofer is wonderful; and Russell's "stock" company of English actors carry off the zaniness with just the right touch. Oh, please, release the Widescreen version on DVD. I need to use it to end my History of the Film Musical class.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: "I could be happy with you, my darling, if you could be happy with me.", 11 September 2006 Author: theowinthrop from United States
I was lucky enough, thirty five years ago, to see a revival of the original musical THE BOY FRIEND at a nice little theater in upper Manhattan called THE EQUITY LIBRARY THEATER. It was on West 105th Street, near Riverside Drive, and was very good at putting on revivals of musicals. THE BOY FRIEND was a very charming, slight salute to the musicals of that period of the 1920s, with Polly (the heroine) as one of the girls at a finishing school, and the travails she has to go through before she finds happiness with Tony. With tunes like, "A ROOM IN BLOOMSBURY" they helped capture a period that just doesn't exist anymore. Too bad that.In the original cast, the role of Polly was played by Julie Andrews, and were the first steps to her musical stardom on Broadway and in film. But that was in the 1950s. In 1971 the film version came out, starring Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Tommy Tune, Max Adrian, and Glenda Jackson. The original sweet musical was changed into a spoof of such musicals. Twiggy, the stage manager, is the understudy for star Glenda Jackson who is injured. She has to take the role on a critical night performance. But Jackson discovers that a Hollywood big-shot is in the audience looking for talent, and she is determined to reclaim her part. Except that now the cast is used to Twiggy's performing the role.Jackson tries to get rid of Twiggy in one sequence, trying to arrange an accident while the latter is on stage. Similarly other members of the cast, including the head of the company (Adrian) are preening themselves to try to catch the bigwig's attention. Only Twiggy and Tommy Tune are being more circumspect. Twiggy wants the male lead (Christopher Gable) to notice her - she likes him. Tune wants to just perform correctly, and he seems rather less than bothered by the bigwig in the audience than anyone else.Besides singing (quite well) several tunes of the 1920 period, Twiggy and the cast handle the musical numbers nicely (my favorite is the one where Adrian's attempts at dominating a song "Never Too Old To Fall In Love" being reduced to a comic prop in a Bath chair by Georgina Hale).The movie is funny and likable. Who can ask for anything more from a good musical film?
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: The Boyfriend (1971, director's cut): *** (out of four), 18 February 2005 Author: pliegeoi from America
Ken Russell followed the X-rated 'The Devils' with this G-rated musical in 1971, based on Sandy Wilson's play of the same name. The film is not a straight adaptation, though. Rather, it is a behind-the-scenes look at a third-rate theatre troupe putting on the play. Most of all, the movie is a spoof of musicals and a biting satire on show-business. It makes for an entertaining movie, but the results are mixed. Russell is at his best with the fantasy sequences and the Berkley style musical numbers. One sequence is filmed as a silent movie in the forest, with characters playing Greek gods. Another has the characters imagining themselves doing the play in Hollywood (since they have been informed that there is a famous director in the audience). Twiggy is delightful as the girl who gets her chance, when the big star (Glenda Jackson) breaks her leg. Jackson is also good in her cameo role. (She opted out of 'The Devils' and did this film as a favor to Russell.) The lavish visuals are, at some times, breathtaking. And the acting is splendid. However, some of Russell's tastelessness does creep in, which is fine since this film is a satire, but sometimes you wonder why (the "dog scat on your spats" joke never really works and seems out of place.) And the director's cut is a bit too long. It is easy to see why it was trimmed by 25 minutes upon the original release. But to appreciate the film, one has to see it on the big screen. The pan-and-scan VHS does not do the movie justice, since the story does not hold up well enough to compensate for the visuals. Even though it was a box-office failure in 1971, you can see the influence it has had on some recent musicals like 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Chicago'. I would not call this one of Ken Russell's best films, but it certainly shows his professionalism as a master stylist... And yes, Twiggy can sing and dance pretty well!
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Some films age superbly, 3 June 2003 Author: (chris@cfowler.demon.co.uk) from london, England
Russell's homage to the twenties has aged better than most of his films because the tone is so right. The orchestration is period-perfect, and the costumes (by Russell's then-wife, Shirley) are astounding. Likewise the amazing sets echo the designs of Clarice Cliff, Lucy Atwell and a host of others. Twiggy is that rare star, a model who made a great transition to film, and she's supported by a Who's Who cast of English performers, especially bad girl Antonia Ellis, who went on to star in the British stage version of 'Chicago'. To cap it all, the film works on three distinct levels, the backstage musical, the onstage drama and the fantasy version. Some lines have even become catchphrases. Sandy Wilson, the original show's author, wrote a sequel called 'Divorce Me, Darling', which parodied the thirties. Some prints are shown without the 'Woodland Pastoral' dance sequence.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Fantastic!!!!!!, 29 November 2003 Author: richard winters (rwint) from Chicago, Illinois
9 out of 10 Excellent musical that should be the basis for all other musicals. Seamless, flawless, and visually stunning. A wide variety of backdrops and settings are used. There is everything from the conventional dance line to a fairy tale setting where the performers are dressed like ladybugs and living in giant mushrooms. There is also a fun take off on Greek mythology done in a scenic forest setting. By far the two best segments take place with them dancing on a giant record player and another with them made to look like characters on a giant playing card. The giant record player one as got to be the most impressive because they show them on not one, but two giant record players, side by side and from overhead. The dancers than dance on top of the giant turntables and , as a group, make unique symmetrical designs with their bodies. It's like a old Busby Berkley number and yet almost out does even him. This is a rare film that can carry itself on visual level alone. The story is at best just a standard musical plot. It involves a group of underpaid actors who put on a tacky low budget musical for a small group of people. The film than interweaves between the low budget numbers, which are all still really good, and their visual fantasies of what things would look like if they had a big budget. Twiggy plays the shy awkward crew hand that comes on as the star when the leading lady breaks her leg. Sure it is, at times, predictable, corny, and lightweight yet it also has a really good sense of humor. The songs ALL have a good score and the dances are certainly fun to watch. Twiggy may never score as a great actress, but she hits the mark here. She has a cute bob haircut and a constantly perplexed expression that is really amusing. All the other characters have amusing idiosyncracies also. Jackson is fun, of course, as the injured leading lady who comes back and is none too happy to see how successful her replacement is. Some of director Russell's films have been considered excessive and nonsensical. Yet that is not the case here. His visual flair and indulgence really work. This guy has talent. He use of primary colors in every shot is nice. This is truly a visual delight that is impressive even by todays standards. This is a really fun to watch.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Pop Spectacular and a Lot of Fun, 19 September 2003 Author: John Calendo from New Jersey, USA
Never understand why this movie is now so neglected. Came out the same year as that corny bit of tinsel, Cabaret, which got all the awards and launched the drippy Liza Minnelli. The Boyfriend was bright, brittle and awfully stylish, beautiful kids, nuanced character work and the angelic Twiggy. A shame this is not on DVD
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: A Wonderful Romance, 18 October 2004 Author: ericge (ericge@westnet.com.au)
What happens when you take a 1920's musical and have a cold-eyed expert director film it? Movie theatre magic! The film is the only serious movie role I know of for 60's supermodel Twiggy. She plays the mousey assistant stage manager for a small musical troupe, and does it surprisingly well. When the leading lady (Glenda Jackson) breaks her leg in an accident, the spotlight of destiny falls on - you've guessed it - on the mousey assistant stage manager. This is, of course, 100% schmaltz - but that is why we are watching. We even sigh rather than throw up when the (handsome and young) leading man takes her glasses off and says something like 'But you're beautiful without your glasses...' Of course - that's what is meant to happen at a carnival. And, of course, the hero's father is - well, I'll leave you to work that one out. The music is fine, simple and bouncy, and Russell's shooting of the action on stage put us with the actors and their struggles to create a performance.I particularly enjoyed the way the dancing was shot; no theatre audience gets to see the up-close, profession view of feet hammering and the floorboards yielding as the dancers perform. Russell even provides a Busby Berkeley that is worth seeing by itself. A classic that MUST be put out on DVD. Today!
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