Life is a cabaret, ol' chum, so come to the Cabaret!
✯✯✯
Aw man... I really, really, really wanted to love this. And for the first few scenes I really did. The opening scene is dazzling and memorable, and the opening number is really fun. But it just seemed to me that everything between that and the finale was pretty aimless.
First off, let me say that I did not hate this. I loved some of the musical numbers, and Liza Minnelli was actually pretty good. Her performance wasn't necessarily mind-blowing, but it was a pretty decent one for a musical. My biggest problem with Cabaret is the story. It doesn't really pick itself up very well after the opening act, and it felt really aimless as it clumsily unfolded before me. The awkward romance between Minnelli and Michael York seemed to try to hint at an underlying sexuality issue that York's character had, but the way this subplot is resolved isn't very well detailed, to the point where I was actually a little confused by the ending.
You see, several scenes feature a sort of homoerotic tension between Brian (Michael York's character) and Maximillian von Heune (Helmut Griem), a wealthy baron who appears to be seducing both of our main characters. As their relationships awkwardly unfold, we aren't exactly clued into what is going on outright, but it can become very clear exactly what is underlying, with a sneaky 1970's coverup of the side plot altogether. Because of the many huge changes in the social structure in today's world, it becomes pretty clear what's going on after awhile, and this strange love triangle appears to be headed straight for doom. That was apparently supposed to be the main plotline, but it was so poorly executed in the film that I found myself begging for another musical number to materialize on the screen.
Luckily, some of the musical performances are what completely saves this film. The Emcee (Joel Grey) is a charismatic individual bubbling with personality, and he introduces and takes part in the musical acts with flair and style. Being a Bob Fosse film, of course, all of the musical numbers occur on a stage in front of a live audience, accompanied by stellar jazz instruments. I still personally believe that Chicago had the best musical numbers (and best everything else), but Cabaret wasn't bad in and of itself.
I couldn't help but feel let down by Cabaret. The story actually almost put me to sleep, it was so slow and shoddily executed, and the overall feel that the film gave me just didn't match the likes of Chicago and All That Jazz. I find myself much preferring those two films to this endeavor, as they contain far better stories and catchier tunes. Liza Minnelli is the best actor in this film, and she actually was what kept me watching the film when there wasn't any singing or dancing. Cabaret is a decent film that is bogged down by a bland and slow story but hallmarked by some fairly great songs and a really good performance from its lead actress. I feel it could have been much better, but since this was one of Bob Fosse's first theatrical endeavors, I feel almost compelled to give him a bit of a break for this. Almost.