Despite what you've heard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec -- famed bohemian artist of fin de siecle Paris -- was not a dwarf. He was short, undoubtedly, at the 5-ft. mark, but an excessively large head made him appear smaller. Sure, he loved the nightlife and he had to boogie. He liked a stiff drink and a row of can-can girls for models, but he wasn't a clown.
You'd never know that from watching director Baz Luhrmann's ("Strictly Ballroom," "Romeo & Juliet") extravagant new film, "Moulin Rouge," starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. In it, John Leguizamo portrays Toulouse-Lautrec -- pince nez and all -- as a comic midget, a bit player in a Soft Cell video.
Speaking of Soft Cell, that inimitable pioneer of '80s techno-pop, "Moulin Rouge," despite being set in 1900 Paris, is laced with modern pop culture references: from elaborate musical productions based on "Like a Virgin," "Roxanne" and a medley of contemporary songs, like "Silly Love Songs," "I Was Made for Loving You" and "All You Need Is Love," to repeated references to Sweet's '70s hit, "Love Is Like Oxygen."
Written by the director and Craig Pearce, the film's story is a familiar one. A young writer, Christian (McGregor), falls head over heels for Moulin Rouge dancer and courtesan, Satine (Kidman), after he meets Toulouse-Lautrec and merry band of bohos, and joins their group to create a stage show for the Montmartre show house.
Trouble is, club owner Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) has plans to sell Satine to the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh) in exchange for funding the show and a massive renovation of the Moulin Rouge. Satine -- who will star in the show -- hopes it will help her become "a real actress" like her hero Sarah Berhardt.
A series of comic misunderstandings leads to an affair between Christian and Satine that threatens not only the production and the future of the Moulin Rouge but has even more dire consequences.
Luhrmann admits that his merry band of bohos -- which also includes revolutionary maestro Erik Satie and a narcoleptic Argentinian -- is only loosely based in reality, but Disney itself couldn't hope to put together a more fantastic bunch.
Mix "The Sound of Music," "Magical Mystery Tour" and a Batman-like faux cityscape of Paris, add more than a few handfuls of fireworks and magical glitter cascading through the skies and you'll think it's Sunday night and you're watching "The Wonderful World of Eurodisney."
It has to be said that the dancing and big musical numbers are exciting. And the story is sweet, the acting fine and there are plenty of funny moments, especially early on, before the gratuitous late-20th century pop culture references grow tiresome. You may even have fun trying to figure out where the lower halves of Leguizamo's legs have gone or contemplating the similarities of the singing voices of McGregor and Queen's Freddie Mercury.
Ultimately, however, this feels more like an animated fairy tale film (sans animation) aimed at kids (but it's rated PG-13 thanks to some scantily-clad dancers and an attempted rape scene).
And, like the Moulin Rouge itself, this is a prettified version of Montmartre circa 1900, offering little more than the thrill of an Instamatic moment. It also seems sad to see Toulouse-Lautrec (and Satie, by association) whittled down to little more than a hollow, laughable caricature. Much like a Van Gogh painting on a coffee mug, the artist has been stripped of his depth and impact so that his surface qualities can enhance a slice of modern pop culture.
Grade: C+
"Moulin Rouge" opens Fri., June 1.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
