OK Russian Musical (!!!) has a lot going for it in well done musical numbers and dance sequences, what it doesn't quite have is a story that's especially satisfying. There's some good ideas for a story--a college age guy chafing under late 50's era Russian rule (these would be the post Stalin pre Cuban Missile Crisis Kruchev days??? yes not exactly carefree days but maybe as carefree as life under communist dictatorship got for those folks living there.) He starts out with a job and a potential love interest spying and of course then chasing after (the better to attempt to arrest them of course) rebellious American Culture Loving Jazz Worshiping Beatniks, and of course thanks to his attraction to a swell lookin blond dame decides to join em much to everyone's concern (with the exception of his dad who just doesn't seem all that concerned with his son being rounded up and being tossed into a secret prison--oh wait those days are behind them now--or are they i honestly don't know--because without spoiling anything--something happens to one of the characters at the end that never gets resolved and leaves me wondering--wait what?) Back to the movie! Will the jilted former love interest be jealous of this new blond dame? Will she do something to try and win the now pompadour spouting hunk back? I'll never tell, but you can probably guess. All that aside, this movie is really about the music and how the rebelliousness of the youths there mirrored the rebelliousness of ours here in the USA--blah, blah, blah, enough with the youth culture lesson, let's dance! (and they do!) Movie very, very much resembles 1993's "Swing Kids" with Christian Bale--only instead of German youths and swing--its Russian teens and Jazz--but you know that shouldn't really matter since i think the effort is there--you'll have a pretty good time watching the brightly colored kidz sing and dance, and some of the retro set design mimicking 50's American nightclub culture is nicely flashy. However its just as easy to forget as soon as you leave the theater--or as soon as you finish watching the DVD, which is just something one should never have to say about a Russian Musical heralding American pop culture, however i'm betting the DVD'll be good for a rewatch or 2 if you really dig the movie, or at least the closing number--Shine On You Crazy Kidz With Your Renegade Youth Culture Ways.
