Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The Sparkling Diamond: Moulin Rouge!
What can more can we say about Moulin Rouge!, the movie that helped repopularize and redefine musical films, that has not already been said? Nicole Kidman rocketed to full-blown gay icon status (not to mention mega-stardom) with her Oscar-nominated turn as Satine, a high-class prostitute and nightclub singer with dreams of becoming a legitimate actress. Ewan McGregor, likewise, gives one of his best performances as the lovesick writer Christian, and shows off thereto unknown vocal chops as he belts out tunes by Elton John and Rogers & Hammerstein. Now just shy of its 20th birthday, Moulin Rouge! played like an act of cinematic madness upon its release in 2001. Pop songs in a period setting? Stars doing their own singing? Of course, those tropes have since become standard in subsequent hits like Mamma Mia. Miraculously then, writer/director Baz Lurhman’s career-high point still has all the same innovation, charm and style that made it a hit two decades ago…not to mention a soundtrack that still rocks. In the age of pandemic, it’s just the kind of celebration we need.
Streams on HBO Go, Hulu, YouTube, VUDU and Amazon.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
This article includes links that may result in a small affiliate share for purchased products, which helps support independent LGBTQ+ media.
Josh447
Stunning movie but I’ll watch anything with Nic in it.
Troysky
…crazy fun. Many don’t like it, but I thought it was great….astounding (!) production design of the turn of the century from 1900 grungy, rainy, yet glittery France….
Dwight
That was a terrible trailer for that film.
jckfmsincty
Anyone who stays with it for the first 20 minutes will end up loving it.
Ricanthony
I’ll admit that when this came out I was not at all interested. I’m one of those shunned gays who does not care for musicals. However, I watched it not long ago and absolutely loved it.
Man About Town
“Vocal chops”? Ewan MacGregor proved he can’t sing a lick in this overblown mess. And if I had a dollar for every time someone sang the last line of “Your Song” (How wonderful life is when you’re in the world) I could purchase a Hawaiian island and still have enough left over for a Vegas casino!
Josh447
As a singer and a vocal technician I disagree about Ewan, he holds the notes with ample vibrato and control and his timber and tone is quite admirable.
However I will give you that not everyone is going to like the sound of someone’s voice, whether they can technically still sing notes well or not. The Voice has a lot of technical good singers but the way they sound like 99 percent are boring.