Nigel Dick, Bruce Gowers, Joseph
Kahn, Dave Meyers
2000
Grade: D
Dear Lord that smile…alright this will not be so easy a thing to review as a movie, and neither is it so straightforward as a concert recording, for it is really neither. What this DVD is in reality is one part concert, one part behind the scenes travelog, and one part music video/sketch catalog. The narrative, should this entry be considered to have one, relates Ms. Spears’ visit to Hawaii and the prodigious concert held there, and I suppose that’s as good a place as any to discuss this entry into the Archive. My first reaction to the concert footage is frustration. Certainly not because the performance is weak, though it is an early example so the rough edges can hardly be expected to have been sanded off, but rather because there is clearly a trigger happy director that seems to want to cut himself into the performance. I understand that consistently changing the shot adds a sort of dynamism to concert footage, but I feel like that is only necessary when the performer lacks a sort of captivating charisma. If a performer is sitting on a stool and strumming his guitar, it makes perfect sense for a director to add momentum and variety with a diverse selection of shots. However, if the shot is shifting from a high angle oblique tracking shot to an audience view to a rapid fire series of zooming mid-range shots during a painstakingly choreographed and meticulously executed dance piece, the artistry of the performance gets lost in the interference of the director. And let’s not be confused, Ms. Spears needs no editorial aid to command the stage. The choreography is good with, I suspect, an aspiration to harkening back to the music videos, but, sadly, the backup dancers, extremely talented as they may be, are used more as set dressing than as thematic support to whatever song is being sung. As example, see “I Was Born to Make You Happy” where the song and the dance, individually well performed, are tonally discordant. Now I don’t want to appear too harsh on this point. I’m no choreographer, and I’ve no comprehension of what manner of time constraints or preparation schedule was allotted for this massive undertaking, but to my mind great dance is not only about lyrical physicality, rhythm, and expression, it is also about reflecting the tone and content of the music.
The second phase of the video is a behind the scenes look at Ms. Spears’ trip to Hawaii. Flame spinners, dolphin trainers, parasailing, a surprised fan, and a school visit, everything that can possibly go into the celebrity version of a touristy visit to the islands. The footage is very curated so it doesn’t quite succeed in giving the slice-of-life feeling that it’s trying to engineer. There’s a little too much polish about it all, not quite scripted, but such that even the supposedly candid moments feel like carefully considered interview responses. To be honest, there’s more than a hint of Colonel Tom Parker about these scenes that add a fringe of sadness to even the most bubbly of moments.
The last pieces of the program includes a collection of SNL sketches and a smattering of contemporary music videos. All of the sketches are variations on a theme with Britney playing some version of herself and are anchored by the last era of quality writing and cast that iconic show would see. With the exception of a turn as an ex-Mouseketeer hocking a tell-all book on a morning talk show, Britney is not expected to provide much in the way of comedy or acting. Rather she provides the context for aspiring back up dancers Chris Parnell and Chris Kattan, morning show embarrassments Will Ferrel and Cheri Oteri, and Tracy Morgan’s eccentric Woodrow to ply their trade. None of these are in the pantheon of great SNL sketches nor even the best performances for any of these talented alumni. The skits do give Britney a chance to have a little fun at her own expense while being a minor time capsule for the state of SNL at the turn of the century.
The music videos themselves (“Oops…I did it again”, “Lucky”, “Stronger”) will get their moment on that day I get around to reviewing Britney’s iconic sophomore outing, but I will say that I’m always glad to see “Lucky” as it has always been one of my favorite Britney tracks. It’s content seems obvious, and it could almost be called contrived, but it always rang very true for me and it has such a wonderfully catchy melody and superb hook.
This will not go down in history as one of the great concert performances, but it is a fascinating look into the early days of the Britney Spears phenomenon and a broader window into early 2000s fashion, dance, and pop stylings aimed at teen audiences. The whole thing can hardly be said to be organic, and the tendrils of the monied interests are fixed securely to the bones, but that in and of itself adds its own layers of interest to the enterprise. The amount of concert footage does not seem to be enough to support a whole show, so I wonder if there were more songs that did not make the final cut, or if there were other performers that simply go unmentioned. Entertaining and fun, but most useful to Britney fans.
Comments