Impressions of Carrie Underwood's The Sound of Music
Since I have been weighing in on modern movie musicals, I could not resist the opportunity to comment on Carrie Underwood's version of The Sound of Music , which was aired last Thursday to big ratings and will be airing again tonight. True, it is not exactly the same thing -- it is not a movie musical, but a televised version of the original stage musical of The Sound of Music . Yet it stands in the long, deep shadow of the 1965 movie The Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews, with every note destined to be compared. (Though I have not yet reviewed movies older than 20 years, let me just say that this movie will not appear on the Wrong list.) Really, this was a can't win situation from the get-go. Underwood and the brain trust behind the televised version deserve credit for chutzpah alone. Beyond that, was this a successful musical on its own terms? Well... kind of. To the extent that it wasn't, it can't all be blamed on Underwood's performance. 1.