NEWSIES
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
125 min., PG, Musical/Comedy, 1992 Director: Kenny Ortega Cast: Christian Bale, David Moscow, Luke Edwards, Max Casella, Marty Belafsky, Arvie Lowe, Jr., Aaron Lohr, Trey Parker, Gabriel Damon, Robert Duvall, Bill Pullman, Ann-Margaret, Michael Lerner
In 1899 in New York City, newspaper publisher Robert Duvall decides to raise the cost of his newspapers to the "newsies," the people who stand on street corners selling the papers. The "newsies" won't be able to survive with the new price. Christian Bale, the leader of the "newsies" with the help of smart David Moscow and newspaper writer Bill Pullman leads a strike of the "newsies" until the price is brought back down.
NEWSIES is a very good film in the grand Disney film tradition. Definitely one to bring your kids to, or yourself if you don't have any kids. This is one film that I recommend that you definitely don't miss. On a scale of zero to five, I give NEWSIES a five. NEWSIES is rated PG for violence.
I saw NEWSIES in a sneak preview at one of my local theaters. It is being released to theaters everywhere on April 10. NEWSIES is the latest film by the Walt Disney Studios. The music is written by Alan Menken, who most recently did Disney's THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (with Howard Ashman), and the lyrics were written by Jack Feldman. The music for NEWSIES is very good. The choreography for this film was done by Kenny Ortega (who also directed the film), and he seems to have done a very good job. It reminds me of all those old musicals where many people are on the screen dancing and singing.
Like in most Disney films, the villains are totally evil and the heros are totally good. In NEWSIES, the villains are Robert Duvall, the newspaper publisher, Michael Lerner, the newspaper distributor, and the person who runs the local juvenile detention center. The heros of the film are Christian Bale, the leader of the "newsies," David Moscow, his friend and fellow "newsie," and newspaper writer Bill Pullman.
The performances in NEWSIES were great, but the person that I felt was the best actor/actress in the film was Michael Lerner. His character was a real weasel (in fact the "newsies" have nicknamed his character Weasel), always looking out for himself first and nobody else second.
Ken J. blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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