West Side Story 2021 Movie: My Thoughts
West Side Story is a 1957 musical written by the late Stephen Sondheim, which was adapted for film in 1961, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and now recently given a modern version. On December 10th, I was able to see the new movie, and here’s the recap and my thoughts on it.
In the summer of 1957, there were two gangs. The Puerto-Rican immigrants, or the Sharks, and the Jets. But after a dance at the gym, co-leader of the Jets, Tony Wyzek, falls in love with the Sharks leader, Bernardo Vàsquez’s sister, María. It is a modern-day (or used to be modern-day) version of Romeo and Juliet, but added subjects like gang wars and racism.
Cast:
Tony Wyzek played by Angel Elgort (Baby Driver, The Fault in Our Stars)
María Vásquez played by Rachel Zegler (film debut)
Riff Lorton played by Mike Faist (Newsies, Dear Evan Hansen)
Bernardo Vásquez played by David Alvarez (Billy Elliott)
Anita Vásquez played by Ariana DeBose (Hamilton, The Prom)
Valentina played by Rita Moreno (West Side Story 1961)
Anybodys played by Iris Menas (Jagged Little Pill)
This was Rachel Zegler’s first performance so everyone was amazed at her lovely soprano voice. Before this movie was announced, people were upset about how María, Bernardo, and a lot of the Sharks in the 1961 film were white, despite the story having to do with the fact that they aren’t white. But Zegler, DeBose, Alvarez, and the ensemble sharks are all of Puerto-Rican descent, so it’s good that they fixed that.
Most of the ensemble members in this film have been in the broadway show, Newsies, like Ben Cook (Mouthpiece/Racetrack), Jess LeProtto (A-Rab/Buttons), Kyle Coffman (Ice/Henry), John Michael Fiumara (Big Deal/Specs), Garrett Hawe (Skink/Albert), David Guzman (Tino/Mush), and Jacob Guzman (Junior/Sniper).
A minor character that had changes in their actor was Anybodys, a Jet who, in the 1961 movie, was a tomboy who wanted to be apart of the Jets, but they didn’t like her because she was a girl, but in the 2021 version, they turned her into a transgender man played by Iris Menas.
Music
The music was created by the late Stephen Sondheim, so you know that it’s good. Sondheim is known for, along with WSS, musicals like Into The Woods, Sunday in the Park With George, and Company. Sadly, before this film was released, he passed away due to cardiovascular disease. May his memory be a blessing.
All of the music in this movie was adapted beautifully, and my favorite moments include the balcony scene (Tonight) and the dance breaks in both America and Jet Song.
Awards:
This movie isn’t a play so it didn’t win any Tonys or Drama Desks, but it still won 3 Golden Globes this year.
- Best Musical or Comedy Film
- Best Actress (Rachel Zegler)
- Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose)
And for me, I rate this movie a 10/10. I loved everything about this movie, the dancing, the singing, the emotion. This movie was a gem, and so was the 1961 film. As of right now, it is still in theaters, and on March 2nd it is going to Disney +.
Rebecca Rogers • Feb 15, 2022 at 8:44 am
I remember crying through half of this…People should totally see it. It is so good.
Shannon O'Connell • Feb 15, 2022 at 10:10 am
I do too, Rebecca. Because I was in the theater seven seats away from you /j
mplo • Mar 20, 2022 at 9:54 am
I tried to watch the reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story, despite not liking the idea of this film being rebooted/remade, and, as I predicted did not like it, at all. I could not even bring myself to watch the entire film. The beginning of the remake/reboot of the film, which involved everything just crashing down all around was bad enough, but the fight scenes, including and particularly the Rumble were extremely violent. The constant throwing around of racial/ethnic epithets was also kind of hard to take.
The dancing was way too hyped-up, and the back-drop scenes look too much like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city, rather than the impoverished, rough-and-rundown parts of it.
Both the Jets and the Sharks look too much like the newsy boys, and their girls look far more like a bunch of wealthy suburban prep-school girls that are dressed to the nines for partying around town, rather than a bunch of gangsters’ girlfriends.
The backstories of the Jets and Sharks, especially Tony, who’s out on parole from prison, where he’s serving time due to assault and attempted murder aren’t helpful either, and the fact that there’s this sort of good guys vs. bad guys outlook in the whole remake of the film version of WSS (i. e. the Sharks as the good, smart guys who are trying to better thamselveser, vs. the bitter and bigoted white european ethnic american native Jets who are out to drive the Puerto Rican Sharks out) is not very helpful, either. The original 1961 film version of WSS however, makes everyone realize that there are no good guys and no bad guys, and puts responsibility for the hatred and violence that results in the loss of lives, on both sides (i. e. the Jets and the Sharks), which Maria points out in her angry message to both the Jets and Sharks alike, after Tony has been shot and killed by Chino.
I had made it a point not to see Spielberg’s film version of West Side Story in a movie theatre, or even on television. My curiosity got the better of me, so I rented it from amazon.com, to see on my computer, and as I predicted, didn’t like it, at all.r.
Remakes of older classic films generally don’t come out very well, and West Side Story was no exception. I thought that Bernardo and Chino were annoying, and the same thing with Riff, and Anybodys.
Having said all of the above, imho, the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story really cannot be beat, no matter how great an attempt there is to top it.