The MoFo Top 100 Musicals Countdown

Rizzo, Frenchie, Keneckie, Teen Angel, Coach, The Principal, Danny and Sandy...the rest of the cast is just named chorus line. I'm happy they aren't fully fleshed character I don't need to know about Jan or Putzie they aren't important.

I expected it to make top 5. Not my cup of tea, but it's fun.

To me he will always be the taxi driver in Looks Who's Talking... I'm too young to remember him in his 70's stuff, which I didn't see until later, and too old to think of him as in a gazillion silly action films.

His best film is Blow Out. I do like and value Pulp Fiction, though not nearly as much as some or the film's reputation. Get Shorty was decent as was the remake of The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. Oh, and Urban Cowboy is watchable.

Other than that...meh. Not a draw at all. Has he even done anything in awhile? Also he's gotta be pushing 70 years old and isn't he just busy flying airplanes and such now?

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That's the problem. You literally just confirmed it. If I want to see a movie about two gangs clashing, I want to see what makes the gangs stand out from other pop culture gangs.

I had Grease at #7. I first saw it on its re-release with my first love when I was just out of high school, if you want to "date" someone. So that fact alone would make it a sentimental winner for me, but I truly love the movie. I don't care that the teens are played by full-blown adults. C'mon, the car with the two leads flies away into the sky at the end! Who wants realism. This was pure fun and that's I expected and that's what I got. Oh, and first love with me or not, I loved me some Olivia Newton-John and her scene at the end in the leather suit made me love her even more! I'm glad it cracked the Top 10. Cheers to the rest of you MoFos who voted for it.

EDIT: Just for kicks, I thought I'd mention that while I was commenting on Grease, one of the hit songs from the film came on my 70s cable station---You're the One That I Want. That kind of stuff seems to happen to me a lot.

#1. On the Town #93 (list proper)
#2. Holiday Inn #109 (NEAR MISS)
#5. The Blues Brothers #19 (list proper)
#6. Easter Parade #78 (list proper)
#7. Grease #9 (list proper)
#8. Meet Me in St. Louis #33 (list proper)
#9 Yankee Doodle Dandy #32 (list proper)
#10. Gigi #85 (list proper)
#12. Calamity Jane #84 (list proper)
#14. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers #71 (list proper)
#18. The Muppet Movie #45 (list proper)
#25. Neptune's Daughter (one-pointer)

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I saw Grease a while ago and barely remember it. Given my rating, it seems I enjoyed it somewhat. I haven't felt an urge to revisit it but maybe someday.

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Always loved that bit.

Ex-ACTLY, Holden.

You, my friend, are correct.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those movies that I can't decide how I feel about it. I love the music, but I kind of go back and forth on if I like the movie or not. I debated including it on my list because of the music, but after rewatching it for this countdown, it missed my list. But I'm glad to see it made the countdown. In fact, this time of the year, the song "What's this?" is my ringtone.

I watched Hedwig And the Angry Inch because several people recommended it. I expected to hate it, but it turned out to be better than I expected, but not good enough for me to consider it for my list.

When I was in college, I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the theater with the audience participation more times than I can count because that's where all my friends were every Friday and Saturday night. I hated it the first time I saw it, but after seeing it so many times, now I only dislike it. But I have to admit that some of the songs are kind of fun. I'm not surprised that it made it his high on the countdown, but I'm just glad that it didn't take the #1 spot.

I was a bit late getting around to watching La La Land, so by the time I saw it, I had heard so much about it that my expectations were sky high, and I don't think it was possible for it to meet those expectations. That's probably the reason why it didn't make my list. I like the movie, but I don't love it as much as I thought I would. It's a great throwback to the classic musicals, but it just doesn't live up to them for me.

I love Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and I strongly considered it for my list, but I just couldn't find room for it on my list. It was one of several animated movies that I considered for my #25 spot, but it lost out to a different Disney movie. I'm thrilled to see it made it this high on the countdown.

I'm generally not a fan of foreign (non-English) movies, but The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of my favorites. If it had been in English, it might have made my list.

My Fair Lady is one of my favorite musicals. It was pretty much a lock for my list from the first day I started compiling my list. It was #13 on my list.

I've seen Grease many times over the years, and I think it's a very good movie with some great songs. But over the years, it has lost a bit of its appeal. I still watch it if I'm flipping channels and it's on, but I rarely go out of my way to watch it anymore. I love Olivia Newton-John, but of her movies, I would rather have seen Xanadu make the Top Ten than Grease.


For the near misses, I considered Hearts Beat Loud, Holiday Inn, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh for my list, but none of them made my final list.


My list so far:
2. The Music Man (1962)
5. Oklahoma! (1955)
9. 1776 (1972)
12. The Greatest Showman (2017)
13. My Fair Lady (1964)
15. Les Misérables (2012)
16. Oliver! (1968)
17. Anastasia (1997)
18. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
24. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
25. Frozen (2013)

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Wow! That also sums up a lot of how I feel about those titles too. Beauty and the Beast and A Nightmare Before Christmas almost made my list and it wasn't so much that I didn't value them as reasons that they weren't included, it's more that I just couldn't remove any of the others I loved. As far as Rocky Horror Picture Show goes, I'm just kind of neutral toward it. It is a funny take on the whole Frankenstein bit, but it just never resonated with me the way it does with so many apparently.

Interesting too because I think you and I might be a couple of the only ones who voted for Yankee Doodle Dandy. It was my number 13. I'm surprised more people didn't vote for it. *edit* actually I guess nine people voted for it... out of 52? So that's not really too bad considering it is an older film.

9. Grease (1978) - Grease is one of those movies that I wasn't crazy about as a kid and young guy (didn't hate it, but didn't love it) but as time has gone by I seem to love the way it looks and sounds more and more. The songs are still catchy after all this time, and John Travolta was still an actual person and not the Scientology moon person he's turned into. I don't think Olivia Newton-John really delivered on the enormous promise she displayed in her early career (one of the few younger singing guests I've seen on The Dean Martin Variety Show), but talented she certainly was. Together they form an unbeatable pair of charismatic young superstars that power Grease into the stratosphere and have kept it a popular movie after the nearly 50 years that have passed since it came out. It's a step into a different era, with different values and expectations, but the music, singing and dancing are terrific. It ended up at #9 on my ballot - a perfect match with where it ended up on this countdown.

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Seen : 63/92
I'd never even heard of : 11/92
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 18/92
Films from my list : 18 + 1

#9 - My #9 - Grease (1978)
#11 - My #12 - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
#14 - My #3 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
#15 - My #4 - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
#20 - My #2 - Dancer in the Dark (2000)
#21 - My #10 - Chicago (2002)
#23 - My #15 - A Hard Day's Night (1964)
#24 - My #11 - Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
#28 - My #7 - Labyrinth (1986)
#37 - My #1 - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
#41 - My #6 - Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982)
#44 - My #13 - Oliver! (1968)
#47 - My #14 - Hair (1979)
#59 - My #5 - Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
#60 - My #23 - Annie (1982)
#72 - My #22 - Yellow Submarine (1968)
#92 - My #8 - Tommy (1975)
One-pointer - My #25 - Shock Treatment (1981)
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#108 - My #16 - Evita (1996)

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I'm just glad to see that so many of the classic musicals made the countdown. When the discussion about having a musicals countdown started several years ago, so many people were against it that I was afraid that by the time we had this countdown, it would be filled with movies that I had never heard of or movies that I hated. I like that there's a nice mix of classic musicals and some more modern movies.

But I'm surprised at some of the classic musicals that missed the countdown considering that the Near Misses only got around 30 to 35 votes. In addition to the movies that have already been mentioned (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Guys and Dolls), I would have liked to see Brigadoon, Bye Bye Birdie, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, Tea for Two, Bells Are Ringing, Robin and the 7 Hoods, and so many more make it. Even some more recent musicals like Xanadu and Mamma Mia! are surprising to see not make the countdown.

But there are just too many great musical movies, and not enough room for all of them, so there were bound to be some surprising misses.

Same here. Have had plenty of chances and watched snippets over the years but had no real drive to sit down and watch the whole thing.

Three Gene Kelly musicals are on my top 25 list, so I just didn't have room for Brigadoon which is a musical I like a lot even though I think it's generally considered a "mid" musical by musical aficionados. To read the premise of Brigadoon on paper, it comes across as beyond preposterous - like something that would just get laughed out of the writing room, but it somehow just works so well.

An American in Paris is one that made my list which has already appeared... far too low, or is it high, in this countdown. Another of my Gene Kelly picks will definitely make the top three on this list... I know, it's a big secret. And the third Gene Kelly musical that I picked is my personal favorite of his, but it's largely forgotten today, however it's in my top 100 films of all time list.

That's OK. By not watching it (Grease), you'll just save yourself a trip to the hardware store:

Now I'm curious what movie is your personal favorite of his. There were several Gene Kelly musicals that I was considering for my list, but I ended up with only three of his movies on my list, but only two were classic musicals. I had to leave off some favorites including the underrated movies For Me and My Gal and It's Always Fair Weather.