WEST SIDE STORY FOR TODAY

To remake or redo an acclaimed, if not beloved, piece of entertainment is risky at best. The first take has the luxurious possibility of being unfamiliar and making the biggest impression to which all subsequent productions are compared especially when it was highly received and contained so many memorable songs.

Originally, West Side Story (WSS) was going to be East Side Story with a rivalry between Catholics and Jewish groups which might have been quite interesting but not as poignant as mostly Irish and Puerto Rican street gangs fighting over ghetto turf. In the Broadway musical, William Shakespeare's take on great love was played out in an inexplicable tragedy as obsessed lovers are wont to do.

I didn't see the first movie until several years after its release in 1961. My first wife and I made it a date. We had to go to Elmira, NY. After eating at Schanaker's Diner, we only had to go up the street to the Colonial Theater. But before that memorable evening, I did have the sound track of the movie, as well as a recording of the original broadway production. Both of which were well played. Much later I saw a theater production here in Denver. To say the best, it was quite disappointing. So after everything, I really didn't want to like Spielberg's remake of the WSS because I had held the original in such high regard for so long. 

BUT, I did like more of it than I predicted. I appreciated the realism, the cinematography, the music and songs, and the credits. The changes represented more of how far we have come as a society more than a new take on a classic story. The new plot line seems more disjointed but takes the same suspension of reality, mainly due to  so much drama and intimacy compressed into such a short time period that couldn't be covered up by great singing and dancing. Perhaps the grittier and more authentic Spielberg film belies the musical flow that fits so well in the Broadway influenced 1961 production.But if the original movie was first made today, it most likely would have looked more like this remake than not. 

Even though I remain somewhat ambivalent about the changes and adds in the new production, I truly loved Rita Moreno's new role as Valentina especially her reflection scene, which is likely contrary to some critical reviews. Although I'm not convinced as to what the reflection actually means or was meant to express, my subjective response was quite enough. But that's as far as it goes. My review easily falls into the category of "Who Cares?" Which reminds me of the old adage, "Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one."