To top matters off, I played the closing scene about thirty times.

You might get the idea that I love this movie. And you’re right. And I’m not the only one. Countless high schools have presented it as a play.

This widely loved combination of drama, romance, excite, music, and dancing is yours whenever you wish.

I love the modern technology and the business structure that makes these wonders available to almost everyone.

After the initial opening credits with great music and dancing, the movie begins with a fire and brimstone preaching of Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) who condemns dancing as the root of potential destruction of the moral fiber of the youth. And of course, the music is equally sinful in his eyes.

This sets the scene for the basic plot.

Ren (Kevin Bacon) is the new kid in the small town of Beaumont. And he brings his big city mindset. Although he plays by the rules, he seems to get blamed for everything.

You’ll notice Rusty (a very young Sarah Jessica Parker) in her highly charming supporting role. Boy has she come a long way. She was good then and she’s great now.

Ren wants the senior class to have a high school dance. This is strictly taboo. So he spearheads an effort to legalize dancing within the City of Beaumont. With a growing support group, he takes his message to City Hall.

This film is overflowing with life lessons. One is to go for it. Do it legally. Do it peacefully. Have the guts to stand up and be heard.

This film is filled with great drama, great music, and great dancing, and pure joy.

Movie Feel Good Review: If you like being happy, see this movie.

[rating:5/5]

I brought my personal exhaustion to the party. By the end I was moving my body and totally into the joy of the experience.

The first thing that struck me was that Cher really loved her audience. And they loved her. You could tell by their smiling expressions and the waving cardboard signs.

There is so much packed into this ninety minute extravaganza that I can’t cover it all. But here are some highlights.

Cher started out with a body moving “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”. She followed this with “All or nothing”.

The audience then delighted in a “Sonny and Cher” film sequence. Ah yes – the good old days.

Other performances included the popular “Half Breed”, “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves”, and a “Take Me Home” dance sequence.

You’ve seen Elvis impersonators. Well – Cher was one also. And she was good.

This DVD rental also featured “The Shoop Shoop Song”, aka “It’s in his kiss”.

I absolutely loved the two flamenco dance sequences. It made me want to take up dancing.

Just when I thought I couldn’t, “Strong Enough” moved me forward.

Believe it or not, the next uplifting song was “If I could turn back time”.

The finale was Cher’s mega-hit “Believe”. As if the singing wasn’t enough, there was spectacular musical accompaniment, amazing dancing, and aerial acrobatics. I watched this finale six times! That’s one of the great things about DVDs.

It’s unusual to encounter a performance that inspires you to get out of the doldrums and do what the artists are doing. This is one of those performances.

Movie Feel Good Review – You absolutely must see this performance by Cher and her team.

[rating:5/5]

This is a musical film about people in the music business. Many of the scenes are centered around performances on stage. There is also singing woven right into the plots. This is reminiscent of the 1950s MGM musicals where almost everything is sung.

However, the music is more like the rock and roll of the 50s and 60s.

I heard Eddie Murphy imitate James Brown on an old Saturday Night Live rerun. He was really good. And he’s really good in Dreamgirls. He’s not the only one who can sing in this movie.

You also have Jamie Foxx who won best actor Oscar for playing Ray Charles.

And then you have the beautiful Beyonce Knowles who is a fantastic singer in anybody’s book.

This is my first acquaintance with the singing of Jennifer Hudson. And she is amazing.

The whole cast if wonderful.

If you include this great movie among your DVD rentals, you’ll feel your body wanting to move from the beginning to end. The songs and the music are wonderful. You wind up feeling good, which is the major criterion for ratings on this website.

And there is a plot complete with emotional interactions, betrayals, back stabbing, ego trips, hurt feelings, enforcement of honesty, bouncing back, forgiveness, and personal redemption.

I especially enjoyed a scene where everyone walked away from somebody who started taking drugs. This might be a good lesson for the kids.

This is a great movie that is now on my list of favorites.

You might want to take a look at the movie trailer below.

Movie Feel Good Review: Great, uplifting movie with life lessons.

[rating:4.5/5]

There are at least three different versions available for rent. I’ve been enthralled with at least twenty-five viewings. And I’ve rented them multiple times from both Netflix and Blockbuster. They are that good.

Here is the list:

Riverdance: Live From New York City is the first one I saw. This was performed by the main troupe. However, Colin Dunne replaced Michael Flatley, the original male lead. Later I learned that after the first highly successful tour, Flatley refused to return when his impossible financial demands proved to be too impossible. Dunne, a multi-time world danced champion filled Flatley’s dancing shoes with perfection. Jean Butler rightfully continued as the female lead.

The lively performance invites a feeling of joy as you marvel at the seemingly impossible movements made in unison by the entire dance troupe. These physical artists all started as young children and were dedicated to Irish dance their entire lives.

One of the high points is the dance-off between two African American tap dancers and three Irish dancers. This joyous performance, choreographed by Colin Dunne, brings the entire music hall to their feet.

Later I marvelled at Riverdance: Live from Geneva. This featured an entirely different troupe that was as amazing at the first.

I finally saw Best of Riverdance. This recording told the entire story from the very beginning as a one time ten minute performance. The viewer sees how it mushroomed to a world-wide phenomenon. This shows performances by Michael Flatley, the Lord of the Dance. He exhibits a swashbuckling persona as he dominates the stage.

The three DVDs bring tears of joy. If you want to feel good, this is one very good way to do it.

The following video snippets give you an idea of the experience. However, the actual movies have much higher video quality.

Movie Feel Good Review: These are my favorite DVDs of all time.

[rating:5/5]