 cropped-thumb-62x62-29482.jpg)
With a tagline like 'The Greatest Production Since The Birth Of Motion Pictures,' you get a little something like the unmanageable monstrosity that Follies ultimately becomes. Structured as a series of unrelated vignettes, directed by different people (not to mention that screenwriting credit list), it's ultimately just a jumble of parts that add up to less than a whole movie.
Red Skelton does a 'Guzzler's Gin' number. Esther Williams swims. Fred Astaire dances several times. You get the idea. But the veering between a slapstick comedy skit and a selection from an opera soon wear you down. What are we watching, exactly? It's a greatest hits parade from a bunch of stars with marquee names: Some at their prime, some fading, some still on the way up. Yet none of them probably counted Ziegfeld Follies among their favorite movies.
Some of the performances -- anything involving Astaire, typically -- are standouts, but just as many are utter duds. Fortunately, there's an easy way to deal with the kitschy comedy that hasn't aged well: Hitting skip on your remote control will zip you right to the next vignette.
The DVD features audio of two songs deleted from the film, vintage MGM shorts and cartoons, and a new retrospective featurette about the film.
