I just watched A Chorus Line again for the first time since it came out in 1985 (now is 2004). It hasn't aged well, especially in comparison with the stage show that it beat out for all the acclaim that year, "Chicago". Michael Dougles is doing an indecipherable clenched jaw performance, is if he is suffering intense inner angst or a gall bladder spasm. Cassie, the returning heroine, is just plain annoying. We are never shown ANYthing to show why she is "special", what she can do that no one else can. The personal stories of the different chorus line dancers are interesting, kinda. I sort of think we've gone beyond where an announcement of "I'm black" is shocking or amusing or anything beyond, "Eh?" Likewise, similar announcements about being Puerto Rican or Jewish or gay. I keep comparing this movie to "Chicago" and its vim and vitality ... and Bob Fosse's choreography. Perhaps if Fosse had choreographed "Chorus Line" we would have seen why Cassie was special and a stand-out. But then I guess, if Fosse had choreographed it, it would have been "All That Jazz".
Review of A Chorus Line
