Premise: It's Matilda...but a musical.
Musicals are easy in a way. Easy to rate at least. Are the songs good? How's the choreography? Can the actors hold a note? Do the non-singing scenes drag? I don't have to get deep in the weeds. So, I can simply say I had a lot of fun watching Matilda: The Musical.
The songs are good and catchy. Alisha Weir is a really good Matilda even though, as a millennial, I couldn't stop thinking about Mara Wilson. Really, the whole cast was game. Emma Thompson is almost unrecognizable as Miss Trunchbull. Lashana Lynch softens her screen persona to make a lovely Miss Honey. Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough are happy to play dirty as Matilda's parents. While I have no strong connection to the story from my childhood, I'll say this captures the spirit of it pretty well.
The highest of highlights in the film are anytime there's a full-school musical number. "Revolting Children" is the one that people freaked out about from the trailer and for good reason. It's a banger and the choreography is remarkable controlled chaos. I love when a film adaptation of a musical really tries to do something with the musical numbers that can't be matched on stage. The school sequences really hit that idea hard and pull it off*.
*To be fair, I've never seen the musical, but I doubt it achieves the intricacy and size of this.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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