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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 everybody is
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 that's 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.