[pullquote cite=”” type=”left, right”][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=That Film Guy&asin=B0058SQ42C][/pullquote] Glee, the TV series was launched in 2009 to rave reviews and to a huge audience share. The success of season one has lead to a second, equally as popular series and now Glee: The 3D Music Concert. Following the success of The Jonas Brothers in 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, it was perhaps inevitable that the makers of Glee would cash in on their success. As all ˜concert films’ are nowadays, it’s shot in 3D and it has to be said that this is probably where 3D has its natural home, with sweeping crowd shots and close-ups with pyrotechnics in the background.
Running like a greatest hits compilation, each performer gets a chance to show off their unique talents whether that be dancing or singing. There are also backstage mini interviews with the cast, sometimes in character and sometimes not, but it’s all done to give the illusion of exclusivity at a huge show. We are ˜treated’ to real life talking head mini-documentaries about fans of the series and how Glee has changed their lives. Unlike the hulking, screaming, hysterical Bieber fans, the ˜Gleeks’ seem like a nice bunch of slightly socially inadequate people.
Cynicism toward the obvious attempts to tug at heartstrings is almost impossible to ignore and in the end these segments really drag the film into the realms of farce as the fans chosen neatly tick all the boxes to highlight that even if you a dwarf, ethnic minority, fat, autistic or gay, that Glee will make your life better.
This is where some confusion arises though, because the stories themselves are good-natured and it’s nice that any performance could bring happiness to an unhappy life. However it’s so heavy-handed and obvious that is difficult not to roll your eyes throughout. The Gleek masses will not care though and will simply see shades of their own personalities in these people and will love the show even more for it.
By the end you realise that you’ve just sat through a 90-minute commercial for the show and not a film with any actual substance. The cast are ultra-talented and deserve plaudits for their talents, but let’s all agree that ˜concert movies’ are not movies, but rather just a thinly-veiled advertisement for a product you can get for free on TV. There is, disappointingly, no part for Mr. Shue or Sue Sylvester, the TV shows stand-out performers, but there is a massive a-list cameo at the end, which makes up for their absence somewhat.
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie: Ranked 9th in Top 10 Worst Films of 2011
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