Les Miserables

Let's talk about Les Mis.

My very first memory of anything Les Mis related is from when I was probably 3 or 4. My mom had a CD of various songs, and one of them was Bring Him Home. I remember really liking it.

Fast forward a few years, and I was probably 7 or 8.

Les Mis in Concert was on on PBS and my mom and I watched it. My mom covered my ears during Lovely Ladies, but she didn't realize I was reading along the lyrics from the little lyric pamphlet that came in our CDs of Les Mis. Once she realized that I was doing that she uncovered my ears, ha.

Around that same time I got the way abridged book version for kids.

And since then, I've been in love.

Every time Les Mis in Concert is on PBS, my mom and I watched it.

We sang the songs together.

I got older and read the unabridged version (multiple times). 

I started taking French and that went right along with my love of all things French and Les Mis.

The Les Miserables: Dream Cast in Concert, 10th Anniversary (filmed in 1995) is the cast I grew up with and the one I love the most.

Michael Ball, Lea Salonga, Philip Quast, Judy Kuhn, Jenny Galloway and Alun Armstrong. All amazing.

And Colm Wilkinson will always be Jean Valjean to me.

(I have an old man crush on him... Seriously. Love him.)

ANYWAY.

When I heard they were making a movie, I was so excited.

Then the casting came out and thought I wasn't elated at some of the choices, I thought it would be ok.

And then the trailers came and I cried.

And then it finally came out.

And I saw it twice in one day and I loved it.

The Good:

Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop. So much goodness.

Hugh Jackman killed me as Valjean. I thought he did amazing. His acting, his singing, all of it.

Anne Hathaway surprised me and I actually really enjoyed her.

I loved Les Amis de l'ABC - Enjolras and Grantaire were great.

Loved young Cosette. I was glad they showed young Eponine as well.

Gavroche! So good! I'm glad he got so much face time. I cried when he died. I cried when Javert put his medal on Gavroche's dead body.

I loved the details that remained true to the book (how Eponine dies, how Gavroche lives in the elephant, Valjean scaling the wall with Cosette and ending up in the convent, etc).

The ending scenes were perfection - from the start of the convent scene to the last note. I cried and cried and cried some more.

I enjoyed Marius's character - and his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables really moved me.

The Thenardiers were so well done, love those characters.

Samantha Barks as Eponine. MY FAVORITE.

The filming live and talk-singing. I liked that a lot.

The OK:

Amanda Seyried as Cosette. I don't love the character of Cosette and I don't love Amanda Seyfried, so all in all it was fine.

The new song Suddenly. I liked it, but didn't love it.

Russell Crowe as Javert. While I wasn't blown away with his voice, I still really enjoyed his performance and can't think of anyone better to have played Javert on the big screen. 

The Bad:

Javert's very large audible crack of death.

I'm sure there's more that I want to say but I can't remember it all right now. 

All in all, I really enjoyed it.

(Pictures from our date to go see Les Mis - we also went to eat at Texas Roadhouse after, yum!!!)