West Side Story

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler

Director: Steven Spielberg

Plot: 5.5/10

West Side Story was painfully dated and the love story between Maria and Tony felt like a side-story that wasn’t fully developed. The movie circulates around the gang culture in New York and how Puerto Rican immigrants had to adjust to moving to America. It’s filled with numerous deaths’, ridicule towards a transgender man, and the assault of a freshly widowed woman.

Acting: 6/10

Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, and David Alvarez were the only bearable and believable actors. DeBose especially impressed me with her great range as an actress and ability to deliver emotional scenes. I have never seen the play before, but I didn’t think the character of Maria, played by Rachel Zegler, was a captivating or relatable character. This could be due to Zegler’s performance or Maria might be a naturally bland written character. Ansel Elgort was equally mediocre and didn’t fit the romantic character he was intentioned to be.

Costumes: 7/10

The costumes were purposely loud and animated as if it were a Broadway play. They definitely didn’t have the intention of making it feel like an authentic portrayal of immigrants during the 1950s. I did like the contrast in wardrobe between the two gangs: the Sharks and the Jets.

Choreography: 7.5/10

The choreography was very elaborate and not made to seem realistic because it is a musical. The dance-off scene in the gymnasium was very fun and showed the contrast between Latin and American dancing. The most interesting choreography was when Tony and Riff were fighting over a gun that Riff wanted to bring to the fight against the Sharks, but really they were just dancing around a quarry.

Aesthetic: 4/10

The entire was pretty impossible to romanticize. It was extremely violent and circulated around criminal activity. The only thing this movie taught me was that the gang life is not for me and to never run off with an ex-con because that clearly won’t work.

Music: 6.5/10

Again, I had never seen the play, but I did recognize a majority of the songs. They honestly sounded better from the original soundtrack, but this one sufficed. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler were alright singers and mostly sang pretty drab and mushy songs. Arian DeBose yet again stole the show with her lively and hopeful singing voice. She clearly can do no wrong.

Overall: 6/10 (Paige Unapproved)

I would not recommend this movie to anyone that I was fond of. It’s entirely too long and disappointing, especially since it was directed by Spielberg. You would think that the movie being 2 and a half hours would give me the time to fall in love with the characters, but I didn’t bat an eye when Tony was shot. If you are fond of the musical, I advise you do not to see this movie in order to maintain your love.

My First Unapproved:

As you may have noticed, this is my first post to go under the Paige Unapproved section. All posts in this section are in good fun but are my honest opinions. I’m sure there will be many more posts to come under this section, and I always want to prevent my viewers from wasting their time and brain capacity on a horrid movie like West Side Story. Sorry to Mr. Spielberg if he reads this. I don’t accept bribes in exchange for future good reviews. Unless they’re rather large.