The latest movie-musical to hit theaters is Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years,” starring “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Kendrick and renowned Broadway star Jeremy Jordan.
Depicting a young, sexually-overactive couple’s heart-wrenching breakup, the movie centers around the struggle, jealousy and frustration Cathy (Kendrick) feels living in Jaime’s (Jordan) shadow while she is unable to pursue a successful theatrical career of her own.
The film was previously as an off-Broadway production in New York City, but failed to reach a Broadway stage.
Unfortunately, adapting the musical from the stage to the screen did little to help the show. From a purely musical perspective, the soundtrack for the film was spectacular — however there is a reason they casted Kendrick as the character with the broken theatre career.
Jordan’s vocal technique seemed far more advanced and specialized than these Broadway show-tunes, while Kendrick’s voice is built for belting and singing out. She over-amplified every note and very seldom showed any vocal variety.
In reality, any vocalist would have struggled with the score of the movie — the songs completely overshadow the dialogue, creating a choppy and confusing storyline. For example, in the middle of sex, Jaime confesses to Cathy how happy he is to finally date a “Gentile” girl. However, another song might be dedicated to a complete overview of their relationship. In any case, all of the songs focused on the pair professing or denying their love for one other.
And where a normal chick flick would include the cool best friend character, who adds hilarious commentary, and a hopeful ending to rid the audience of emotional trouble, “The Last Five Years” does not.
The lack of dialogue creates an absence of key bridging and background context, making it extremely hard to figure out whether the scene occurs in the past or present. Because of this confusion, it is hard to fully appreciate the lyrics of the music, which typically distinguish Brown from other composers.
Rather than watching the whole film, invest instead in the soundtrack. The experience is one in the same, and you will spare yourself a corny, over-emotional and confusing hour and a half.
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