MovieChat Forums > West Side Story (2021) Discussion > Spielberg’s “Woke Side Story” is a bigge...

Spielberg’s “Woke Side Story” is a bigger flop than “Cats”!

posted 3 years ago by ReelReviews14 (1220)
24 replies | jump to latest

Whoa! I knew it was a colossal failure, but I didn't think it flopped THIS hard:

https://newsnetdaily.com/spielbergs-woke-side-story-is-a-bigger-flop-than-cats-today-headlines/

Seriously, a film directed by the legendary STEVEN SPIELBERG fails WORSE than 2019's RAZZIE WINNER for WORST PICTURE of the year? Just damn.

I wonder if anyone has interviewed John Williams about his thoughts on Woke Side Story after he avoided composing it like the plague. I can imagine him shaking his head sadly and saying "I tried to warn Steve... he just wouldn't listen to reason... I knew it would suck so hard"

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I admittedly never saw "Cats", so I'm not able to make any comparisons between "Cats" and the new film version of "West Side Story", but after I attempted to see the reboot/remake of the film version of WSS (My curiosity got the better of me.), I could not sit through the whole thing, and decided not to see it again. Even before I rented it the new WSS film version to see on my computer, I knew that it would not be good, and that it would flop in the box office.

Since I already posted a longer thread about why I didn't like Spielberg's film version of West Side Story on here, I'm not going any further, but even before attempting to see it, I knew that would not be a good look, if one gets the drift.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

I actually liked Cats but I can definitely see why it flopped, and I prefer the stage version anyway. It’s heavily known for doing as badly as it did, yet on my Cats DVD, there are hours upon hours of behind-the-scenes footage after the credits finish rolling. It doesn’t seem to be so different from Steven Spielberg and his Woke Side Story, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tom Hooper seem to be very proud of what they’ve done with the Cats movie despite all the backlash.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Hi, StrongRex.
Most musicals are better on stage than on film, anyhow, and, without having seen the film version or the stage version, hearing how badly the film version of "Cats" flopped, it's not surprising. Yet, I wasn't surprised that Steve Spielberg's film version of "West Side Story" flopped in the box office as badly as it did, either.

Btw, my mom saw Steven Spielberg's film version of "West Side Story" on television, and she didn't like it, either. I ren med Spielberg's "West Side Story" for a mere six dollars from Amazon to see on my computer, and I could not bring myself to see the whole thing. That's how dreadful I thought the new West Side Story was, and is.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

In the modern age, stage musicals tend to be better than their movie counterparts, but historically it was the other way around. West Side Story is the most blatant example of this, if you remember my thread on it.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

You've made some good points, StrongRex. Thanks.

I saw both the 1964 movie of "my fair lady" and the stage version, and I liked the stage version of it better, though. The same thing with "Hair".

[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

Yeah, there are definitely some stage musicals I prefer over the movie. But another movie version that is tons better than the stage is Sound of Music.

[–] mplo (2356) 9 months ago

I admittedly never saw "Sound of Music" on stage, but I liked the film version of "Sound of Music" a great deal.

How're you doing, btw? A curious, inquiring mind wants to know.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I don't consider myself part of the problem, DFDalton. At least I gave Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version a try, didn't care for it, and am more than glad that I didn't pay to see it in a movie theatre. The fact that Spielberg didn't make back even half of the $100, 000, 000.00 that it cost him to make the 2021 film version of West Side Story, and the fact that it really didn't do well at the box office indicates that not as many people were interested in seeing it as he, or tons or other people believed. The fact that some of the critics gave Spielberg's West Side Story rave reviews doesn't mean a thing, as far as I'm concerned, either.

[–] luvthepros (802) 3 years ago

Stephen Sondheim claimed he preferred Spielberg's adaptation of the 1957 stage play over Robert Wise's film. He was not happy at all with the Wise film, actually.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

So what? I've always liked the late Stephen Sondheim, but that doesn't obligate me to agree with him on everything. So what if he did prefer Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film West Side Story to Robert Wise's 1961 film version? That doesn't phase me one bit, nor does it change the fact that I prefer the old, original 1961 Robert Wise/Jerome Robbins film version of West Side Story.

Ever heard the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."? That applies here--to Spielberg's film version of West Side Story.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

I heard that it was Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein who didn’t like the 1961 movie, and I never cared about their opinions. I was 15 when I first got into West Side Story, and it was also around this time that I found the playscript in my school library, and I was astounded at how bad the script was compared to the movie. I learned early on that creators are not always right about their own work.

I don’t care if Sondheim approves of this new so-called “West Side Story” movie. I don’t.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I, too, have held on to my opinions about the reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story. I agree with you about Spielberg's film version of West Side Story. I don't care for it, either. I knew, even before the new film version of West Side Story came out, that it would not turn out well, and it didn't.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I was aware of the fact that neither Arthur Laurents or Stephen Sondheim liked the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, but that didn't faze me one bit, and it still doesn't.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

All three of them are wrong. They can have their own opinions, but they’re still wrong.

[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I, too, prefer the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story over Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.

[–] christomacin (4658) 2 years ago

Cats: "The worst thing to happen to cats since dogs."
West Side Story (2022): "The worst thing to happen to the West Side since the East Side."

[–] mplo (2356) 2 years ago

Hi there, christomacin! Thank you for the afternoon chuckle! It's a great way to express lots of peoples' feelings about Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story.

[–] modica (4169) 2 years ago

I don't think it sucked, but it really didn't need to be remade. The original is great.

[–] mplo (2356) 2 years ago

I, too think that Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story was totally unnecessary. The original 1961 film version, while not perfect, is fabulous.

[–] modica (4169) 2 years ago

The original is in my top 10 movies of all time. The remake, while not horrible, doesn't even make it into my top 200.

[–] mplo (2356) 2 years ago

I see what you're saying here, modica. I really didn't care for the remake of the film version of West Side Story at all and, I see why it didn't make it into your top 200. I'll also add that the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story is my all time favorite movie.

Thank you for your reply to my message. No movie is perfect.

[–] DickusBiggus (218) 2 years ago

I have not watched yet, why it is woke? waht happen in here that make this woke, why everybody and their mamas are woke accordingly to most MC commenters

Im a woke? is woke contageous?

[–] mplo (2356) 8 months ago

Steven Spielberg's done many good films, the best of which are based on seriously interestingly intense historical events, but I seriously think that the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is far better than Spielberg's remake of it, which was a disaster.