Movie Trailer Review: Nine

Opens: November 25, 2009

Website: Official Nine site

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Stacy Ferguson

My Review: Nine is one of the few musicals in existence that I know very little about. It was revived on Broadway a few years ago, starring Antonio Banderas, and is based on the 1963 Fellini film 8½. It’s the story of Italian movie director Guido Contini and his relationship with the various women in his life, including his wife, his mistress, his creative muse, and his mother. And therein lies the extent of my knowledge of Nine.

But I do know that it’s directed by Rob Marshall, who also directed the movie version of Chicago, which is one of the best modern movie musicals. And it stars Daniel Day-Lewis, who is pretty much cinematic perfection in everything he does (and I may or may not have a hugely inappropriate crush on him). With the exception of Nicole Kidman, who proved her musical chops in Moulin Rouge!, it’s unclear whether the rest of the cast can actually carry a tune. But I wondered the same thing about Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago, and my concerns turned out to be completely unfounded. So I have complete faith that director Marshall knows what he is doing.

The trailer for Nine doesn’t reveal too much; it’s essentially a collection of clips set to one of the tunes from the show, sung by costar Stacy Ferguson (aka Fergie; yes, that Fergie). But I don’t need to see too much to know I’m already sold on the movie. All I had to hear was “musical”, “Rob Marshall”, and “Daniel Day-Lewis”, and I knew that stuffing my face with turkey won’t be the only thing I’ll be doing Thanksgiving weekend.

Would I Pay For It?: Clearly.