Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Jvbway "Bye Bye Birdie" isn't one of the best musicals of all time, but it's great fun, and accessible to many audiences. The original film could have been wonderful, with Dick Van Dyke reprising his signature Broadway role, but instead they tinkered with the plot, so the film is very unsatisfying. This re-make, which aired on ABC in 1995, is far more faithful to the original script, and includes some original songs as well that were used in a national tour which this film took off from which starred Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking (who choreographed this film.)Jason Alexander is a very different type from Dick Van Dyke, but he is well cast as Albert, (before his "Seinfeld" days, he started in Musical theater.) Vanessa Williams is a perfect fit for Rose. Their is also great work from Tyne Daly as Mae and Mark Kudisch as Conrad Birdie ( a role he played on the national tour).This film is not without it's problems though. A major liability is Chynna Phillips, who, however appealing, simply looks and seems too old to be teenage Kim. And George Wendt is somewhat bland as her father, somewhat throwing the number "kids" away (a number original cast member Paul Lynde stole the show with.)But all in all, this is a delightful, well-done film which the material deserved.

capricorn9 In my humble opinion, this version of the great BDWY musical has only two things going for it - Tyne Daly and the fact that there is now a filmed version with the original script. (OK Vanessa Williams is good to watch.)But to me that's all there is. Most of the cast seem to be walking through the show - Chynna Phillips has no idea who Kim really is and no wonder people walk over Harry McAfee when it's played by George Wendt who looks like he'd rather be back on a bar stool in Boston. Jason Alexander is passable, but that wig has to go and I saw better dancing in Bugsy Malone. As I mentioned, it's good to have a version of the stage script now, but I hope the young out there, who have never seen a musical, DON'T judge them all by this.

BrooklynTheatre I have to say, first off, that it is terrific that the TV Studios are participating in the current revival of screen musicals. In fact, they invented it. Fortunately / unfortunately, this film seems to waver between great musical theatre, and just plain wrong. Being very close to the original Broadway production, this film gets a bit wordy and long as a movie. It is surprising that all of the dialogue was left in. Seems like if you're going to add three or four songs, you need to trim elsewhere. The TV film of "Annie" was very successfully trimmed while still maintaining the spirit of the show.The cast ranges from divine to pointless; but I suppose we had Hollywood concessions to deal with if we wanted this film made. First the divine. Vanessa Williams as Rosie. Miss Williams Rosie is fiery, classy, and beautiful. Really, a terrific performance. Dancing, singing, and presence is equal to the best of them. Another fine performance is given by Brigitta Dau in the small role of Ursula. She is wonderful in song and scene, and really pulls of the addition of the title song in grand style. It is always fun to see stars in musical roles, and Tyne Daly is plenty fun as Mrs. Peterson, if a bit underwhelming sometimes. Broadway baby Sally Mayes is great as Mrs. MacAfee, almost begging for more material. Marc Kudisch (another Broadway performer) is a terrific Conrad - singing and dancing it with bigger spirit than ever, and a nod to the King.On the down side, Jason Alexander was a bit strange as Albert (and the rug bothered me). I think I had trouble getting "George" out of my head. He sang and danced well, but just not an Albert. Chynna Phillips, alas, is just plain awful as Kim. She can't belt, she doesn't have any high notes, she seems to be half-asleep, and she sticks out as way-too-old far more than Ann Margaret ever did. And on the bottom, George Wendt simply wastes a ton of great material as Kim's Father. Paul Lynde originally forced the supporting role of Mr. MacAfee into a star role with his brilliant comic acting. George Wendt simply lacks the skills required for a musical. On the music end, I absolutely loved the addition of Miss Dau and friends in the title number. Best thing in the show. I liked the addition of "Let's Settle Down" for Miss Williams, but it did sound like a pop-song from an smooth jazz radio station. Still, she performs it beautifully. The endless padding for star Jason Alexander is just plain awful. "Giant Step" stinks and he doesn't pull it off (besides it drags down the end of the film), and his "What Did I Ever See in Her" is just plain dumb. I'll agree with the shortening of "Spanish Rose" for TV, but I would have rather seen one of Mr. Alexander's songs cut. "A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore" was put over well enough by Tyne Daly that it is now included in the live stage show.The new orchestrations are inspired - a really nice new sound for the show with lots of fun and the spirit of the original. The direction is good and suitably "made bigger" for modern audiences; but one would have thought that Bob Fosse's bearer of the torch, Anne Reinking would know enough about showstoppers to send the musical numbers skyward. This is not the case, and in fact, the dancing is minimalist and non-existent in most places. The choreography succeeds beautifully in the title number and in Miss Williams songs, but there is little else to recommend. "Happy Face," "Telephone Hour," and "Lotta Livin" are left flat.All in all, I still enjoy watching it, and some performances aside, it is a really good translation of a musical from stage to screen. Besides, you can FF through the ponderous book scenes.

Morning Star If I hadn't been forced to watch this for work reasons I never would have made it past the first 10 minutes. And even then I admit I fast forwarded through parts. The '63 film version was vastly superior in all regards. Yes, I've read this one is more faithful to the original play, but what a wise thing it was for the writer to change the script in '63! It's overlong, it drags, the songs that are in this version and not in the film version are boring and unimaginative. The version of "Kids" in the '63 version was very funny and a true classic of sarcastic parent humor. In this version the Kim is way too old, the Conrad is *absolutely horrible* to behold (when someone ripped his shirt off him I shuttered in disgust...the director of this version has no idea what sexy is.). This Conrad can't dance, can't sing (he can't even stay in tune) and is simply repulsive. If Elvis Presley had really been like that his career would have been over before it began. As for the other actors, well I kept waiting for Alexander's toupee to fall off as he danced and Daly was totally over acting as Momma. See Stapleton's performance in the film version to see the same role properly executed by someone who understands comic timing. This TV version is nothing but a total waste of anyone's time.