THE BOY FRIEND (1971) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Ken Russell
Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Moyra Fraser,
Max Adrian, Vladek Sheybal, Georgina Hale,
Murray Melvin, Glenda Jackson, Tommy Tune
Ken Russell's razzle-dazzle tribute to the Hollywood musicals of the 1930s, a giddy, backstage/onstage artifice starring Twiggy as the understudy who goes on when the star actress (Glenda Jackson) breaks a leg. It's gaudy, superficial and transparently theatrical, way too much of everything, really, but it wouldn't be a Ken Russell movie otherwise. The Busby Berkeley-style production numbers are the highlight. When you're knocking off a Busby Berkeley routine, too much is barely enough.
