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West Side Story (1961)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
3/17
3/17:
West Side Story claims to be about overcoming racism yet is full of racism.
What a ridiculous twist of irony. It's impossible for me to overlook the brownfaced Sharks as Puerto Ricans.
The goal is to have everybody with the same tone of color so I'll be able to differentiate them from the Jets.
However, nearly all are either white, Filipino, or Greek. Only one, Rita Moreno, is an actual Puerto Rican,
but her skin color wasn't deemed good enough. Thus, she was forced to look darker.
Oh, the cinematography is so beautiful that the heavy makeup job on the faces of many thespians is prominent.
Just take a good look at Rita Moreno, and it becomes plain and clear. She claimed to be the pride and soul of
her heritage but would sell out just for that breakthrough role which saw her win an Oscar for best supporting
role. I guess nothing is impossible in Hollywood after all.
On the other hand, the musical isn't good. There are many bland songs, and they come out of nowhere when I
least expect them. So is the dancing. Were the thespians trying out for the Russian Ballet Company or what?
The movie runs too long when ninety minutes should suffice.
Notice the huge disparity in attention between the Jets and the Sharks. The white kids have maybe 90% of the
screen time while it's 10% for the fake Puerto Ricans. It's amazing how the latter group isn't made to matter
in the grand scheme of things. Actually, most of the 10% is for Natalie Wood, who happens to be white, with
little left over for Rita Moreno who had this to say about her co-star:
"It was uncomfortable for Hispanics to see Natalie Wood play Maria, especially because we'd heard that Natalie
hadn't wanted the part, but had been so prevailed upon to take it that she couldn't refuse. Also, that Natalie
seemed 'uncomfortable' with the group of dancers, who were largely Hispanic. This might explain her nonengaging
demeanor with us 'Gypsies' throughout the shoot. It might have been helpful had we been able to bond with Natalie,
but she kept her distance."
Natalie Wood didn't really want Richard Beymer to play Tony. She preferred her fuckmate, Warren Beatty, over
him and tried to have the other guy kicked off the show several times. Overall, they didn't get along during
the filming, making their lack of chemistry obvious. At the same time, the fake Puerto Ricans are shown to be
treated terribly by their white counterparts. As a result, how can the real Puerto Rican viewers stomach it
and still enjoy the musical?
I didn't learn any lesson from West Side Story; it's just another modern but poor interpretation of
Romeo and Juliet. However, the cinematography is good, being the highlight of the show. Only if the
Sharks could be filled with real Puerto Rican actors, perhaps the musical would come off better and more
authentic. Yet it lacks star power from either Tony or Riff to give the show a bigger oomph. That's why John
Travolta keeps coming to my mind because of Grease. As a matter of fact, Elvis
Presley was offered to play Tony, but his manager said no.
Meanwhile, the gang violence fails to interest me. When the words "Jets" and "Sharks" were mentioned, I
half-expected a hockey game to break out. Plus, the near-rape scene is unnecessary, making the Puerto Ricans
look worse in a helpless manner.
All in all, to love West Side Story is to be selectively blind to racism.