OK, suppose you identified with a TV show well beyond what is normal and reasonable. You wear the fashions inspired by the show; you talk about the characters as if they’re real people; you collect memorabilia. What happens when that show gets cancelled? I ask this because that’s all I could think about between numbers in Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.
I’ve seen a number of these 3D movie concerts now and they follow a set pattern — here’s a number, here’s some backstage, here’s some “what it’s like to be on tour” footage, here’s another number. The Glee concert has precious little of the backstage stuff. I know nothing more about the show or the stars therein than I did going in. Instead, I got to learn the life stories of several Glee fanboys, each “damaged” in some way but happily spewing his/her personal verbal diarrhea of “how Glee saved my childhood.” Woohoo, PC lives.
I like Glee, the television show. I like it a lot. It’s a fun program with great music. The Glee Concert? That’s a different animal. There’s no show. There are notable absences of adults Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrision. If I didn’t know the characters, I’d not only be lost (why does this song matter?), I’d be put off significantly by the abridged song lengths, the puzzling, “why doesn’t Darren Criss sing with the other guys?” question or “if Kevin McHale (does this one play basketball?) can walk, why does he use a wheelchair when he sings with the group?” question, and the disturbing background choreography as Mark Salling romps around with his guitar covering Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.” Through Glee colored gleesses, one might enjoy this. The arrangements are indeed wonderful, albeit short. Too short. If you know nothing of Glee, you should probably stay away.
Rated PG, 84 Minutes
D: Kevin Tancharoen
W: I wish
Genre: Cynical cashing-in concert
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Obsessed fangirls, TV junkies
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of film
