Warner Bros.
After the codeine-laced hallucination that was Tom Hooper’s Cats terrorized holiday moviegoers at the end of 2019, the bar for the next major movie musical was practically on the floor. One would think that all it would take to dazzle viewers would be a little technicolor magic, rousing performances, and truly unforgettable songs—preferably without any life-size feline CGI. In a post-Cats, pandemic-era world, aren’t audiences craving a cinematic spectacle that can make the holidays feel as momentous as they used to?
That may be the case. But the response to Cats also indicated that studios should be more deliberate when choosing which stage-to-screen adaptations to pursue, especially since they apparently know most audiences dislike the genre. Not all successful stage productions can translate seamlessly to the silver screen, even if the films have Taylor Swift-sized star power. The Color Purple (in theaters Dec. 25), adapted from the hit Broadway musical based on Alice Walker’s beloved 1982 novel, has flashes of the magic of other holiday releases like West Side Story and Dreamgirls. But the film often finds itself singing on shaky ground.
Directed by Blitz Bazawule (Black Is King), the sprawling production is a marvel to look at, and its story of a woman finding her freedom is as timely as ever, even 38 years after Steven Spielberg’s initial film adaptation blew audiences away. But the songs that weave this triumphant narrative together aren’t nearly as winning. While the all-important musical numbers are staged in grandiose fashion, the songs themselves are conventional, rarely raising to the production’s level. The film relies on its songs to prop up an underwritten screenplay too mawkish for its own good, but a show-stopping trio of performances keep The Color Purple from becoming completely washed out.