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It was a late Saturday night. I'd done my chores and decided to relax with some needlework before crawling into bed. Looking over my tapes, I decided it was time to visit West Side Story again, after some years. It was a fine choice. I would catch myself with my hands idle, as my eyes tracked the dancing, the most dynamic part of the film. I reveled in the Sharks on the rooftop and the gymnasium dance. "Cool" was cool, as always. This is a musical that doesn't try to transcend itself. It just lets the music and dancing speak for itself (and offkey singing along is allowed at home). I've always felt that Richard Beymer was the weakest of the actors, and nothing has changed my mind. But he's easy to ignore in comparison to the outstanding performances of George Chakiris, Rita Morena (who dominates the screen and steals all her scenes), Russ Tamblyn and the rest of the supporting cast. I'll leave the experts to make the minute comparisons to Romeo and Juliet, and to the critics to point out all the flaws. I'll just say, let yourself drift back to the 50s, break out the popcorn and enjoy.
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