Sweeney Todd

Oh okay, I will admit that I just loved Sweeney Todd when Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury did it. I did. I thought it was very clever. So I dreaded seeing it with the Tim Burton goth and gore spin. Johnny Depp does a really nice job looking like a grown up Edward Razorhands. Tim's wife, Helena Bonham Carter Burton, looks haggish and sinister. But then, she has been looking that way in real life for a long time. Tim Burton said he was a lonely child who played by himself. Gee, wonder why? The blood runs in RIVERS in this. I guess Burton has never actually seen a carotid cut, because these people had hypertension for a long time blowing blood all over everything. Alex doesn't like blood or throat slitting. I personally have seen so much human blood that the fake stuff doesn't much bother me. Depp sings with enthusiasm and emotion, and Bonhamcarterburton swallows her words like so many meat pies. Sadly, her lyrics are some of the most clever in the musical but just try understanding her words. Some time, listen to the original Broadway cast. I have to say that the younger actors in this, while adept, are so unattractive that it is startling. Usually Joanna is seen as a delicately pretty girl. Not this one. If you don't have an appetite for gore, buy the original DVD for 22 bucks on amazon.