9 Reasons to Give Movie Musicals a Chance

Musicals have a bad rap: "I just do not like when they sing." But the genre stopped being stiff filmed-Broadway long ago — here are nine concrete reasons to test that.

Nine reasons to press play

1. The emotion hits harder. Where a normal drama says a line, a musical sings it — and "City of Stars" from La La Land sticks better than any monologue.

2. It is the best two-hour mood lift there is. Sing or Pitch Perfect raise your spirits almost physically, no irony required.

3. The songs stay with you. After Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen sounds different; after Rocketman you want to replay Elton John end to end.

4. It is a visual feast. Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! is two hours of color, motion and editing at full tilt — a density you rarely get in drama.

5. The genre does quiet, too. Sing Street and Begin Again are intimate, human stories where music grows out of life, not sets.

6. Great acting lives here. Singing and acting at once is the high wire — it is why La La Land and A Star Is Born collected nominations.

7. It bridges the family. Coco and The Sound of Music land for kids and adults alike — rare films where everyone in the room is happy.

8. Musicals can be bold. tick, tick... BOOM! and Moulin Rouge! break form and prove the genre is not a synonym for old-fashioned.

9. The finale earns its catharsis. A good closing number delivers the throat-lump you put a film on for in the first place.

Who it is for

Want lightness? Pitch Perfect or Dirty Dancing. Want scale and beauty? Moulin Rouge!. Want something serious? A Star Is Born. One number usually cures the prejudice on its own.