Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie (2011)

Artwork for Theatrical Release

Let's face it, you had forgotten about this "concert film," and those that hadn't are right now trying to uncross their eyes.

The Glee universe manages to divide people into polarity more so than any other topic, politics included. 

You either hate it, or you're me.

There goes all the credibility I had built up, street cred and all.

This concert film was really more of a musical documentary, and that's not a complement.  The music was badly choreographed and sparse for a show that puts out more music in a single hour-long episode than most Top-40 radio stations.

The only admirable and well shot part of this film is the 'gleek' segments that are shot outside of the concerts and in the little towns strewn across America.

Aside from that, the rest of the film is one bad decision after another, and often comes across as forced and ill-timed.   There are way too many crowd shots and for Christ's sakes, even the graphics are horribly executed and look cheap. 

I've done better graphics myself using Motion for local spots at $500. 

What's their excuse?

What the film misses, and take this from a gleek that sat through the second season, is the awesome theatricality that fans loved so much.  It was never really about the music, it was about rooting for these characters and hearing their awesome voices, but most of that is gone here.

The camera work and editing manage to neither capture the breadth of the performances nor the singularity of its performers, and both have a way of pissing me off throughout.

Many a time.

The few exceptions to my loathing are Rachel's (Lea Michele) rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade" which still sends chills down my back, Brittany (Heather Morris) and Mike's (Harry Shum) dancing which is beautiful and electrifying, and Santana's (Naya Rivera) everything which is sensual and playful all at the same time and in the right amount.

As a side note, Barbara, if I ever leave you without notice for a woman I've never met, look to Naya first.  If I'm not there, call the police.

Catch this on Netflix or HBOgo one day when you're bored and looking for something frothy, although be warned that HBOgo's live streaming tends to go off-sync after about 15 minutes on full screen.

If you're not a gleek and looking to torture yourself and others, than be my guest.