The Music Goes 'Round: A weirdly mean-spirited trip

So, is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a very specific appetite for 1930s musical slogs where the lead character is a massive jerk. If you like backstage dramas where the stakes feel like they were written on a napkin during lunch, you might get a kick out of it. Everyone else? You’ll probably want to turn it off about twenty minutes in when the singing starts.

The whole premise is just mean. Harry Richman plays this Broadway guy who finds a troupe of truly awful performers and decides to bank on their incompetence. It’s supposed to be a lighthearted caper, but it feels more like a prank that lasts way too long. Seriously, who does that to people?

The "Talent"

The showboat performers are played as so hopelessly out of touch that it becomes hard to watch. There is this one scene where they try to put on a show and it’s just… painful. The rhythm is all over the place, like the director just said 'go' and hoped for the best.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Grand Slam Opera, but without the charm to pull it off. You can almost see the actors looking at each other like they aren't quite sure why they’re standing in the middle of a stage in New York.

• The pacing is weirdly stop-and-start.
• Harry Richman seems to be playing himself, but a version of himself that needs a nap.
• The songs just sort of happen to you.

I caught myself staring at the background extras more than the actual plot. There is this woman in the back of the showboat scene who looks like she’s just waiting for a bus. She’s completely checked out, and honestly, I don't blame her. It’s these little, accidental moments that make the movie feel more real than the script ever intended.

It’s not as chaotic or memorable as Stowaway, which managed to balance its musical numbers with actual human emotion. Here, everything feels like it’s being held together by tape and a prayer. Why is he even helping them? The movie never really answers that, it just moves to the next musical number as if that explains everything.

It feels like a relic of a time when Hollywood just churned these out to fill seats on a Tuesday afternoon. There is no soul in it. Just a lot of people tapping their shoes and trying to smile through the absurdity of the plot. I’m glad it’s over. 🎶