Laikals
The greatest movie ever made..!
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Roland E. Zwick
What would it be like to grow up in a town where the dead outnumber the living by a ratio of more than a-thousand-to-one? That's the case with Colma, a working-class community located just south of San Francisco that is more notable for its vast cemeteries than for anything related to the folk who actually live there. Dubbed The City of the Dead, Colma has a population of around 1500 above ground but over a million-and-a-half below, with roughly 75% of the town's land given over to tombstones and gravesites. That hardly seems the ideal setting for a movie musical, but then "Colma: The Musical" is not your average, run-of-the-mill, afraid-to-take-a-risk movie. Thankfully.Three of the live people who call Colma home are Billy (Jake Moreno), an aspiring actor who's so straight-arrow he's never even had a drink; Rodel (H.P. Mendoza, who also co-wrote the screenplay), a gay prankster who fears coming out to his traditionalist dad; and Maribel (L.A. Renigen), a fun-loving free spirit, who often has to serve as mediator between the two guys. Recently graduated from high school, these three best buddies suddenly discover themselves on the brink of adulthood, trying to find their way in the world and wondering what the future holds for them.Like a modern-day "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "Colma: The Musical" is a cinematic operetta in which the characters define their relationships and express their feelings almost entirely through song. The score by Mendoza is lively and bouncy - if a trifle redundant at times - with lyrics that capture the fears and yearnings of the teenage heart with uncanny accuracy. In addition, this stylish and stylized movie features appealing performances, an endearing sense-of-humor, a hint of surrealism, and an artful use of that rarely employed, but often highly effective, tool of cinematic grammar, the split-screen.With its youthful exuberance and anything-goes audaciousness, this quirky, independent feature has much of the feel of experimental regional theater about it. And the fact that it's still a trifle rough around the edges only adds to its authenticity and charm.Filled with amusing and touching insights into this wonderfully complex and exciting thing we call "growing up," the movie understands the paradox that Colma, like all hometowns, serves both as the soil to plant one's roots in and as the place to break away from when the time is right. That's the lesson that these three likable young people learn in the end - just as the countless others, now residing in those graveyards, learned before them.
preppy-3
Musical about three friends--Billy (Jake Moreno), Rodel (writer H.P. Mendoza) and Maribel (L.A. Renigen). They live in a small town named Colma, have just graduated from high school and aren't sure what they want to do. Billy wants to be an actor but isn't sure if he can do it. Gay Rodel doesn't know what he wants and can't tell his father that he's gay. Maribel is a friend of the two.Very odd movie. The music and songs are good (if repetitious) and there's a show stopper in a bar. There was also an excellent use of split (or multiple) screens and it was shot on beautiful locations. But the movie was too long (20 minutes could have been cut); the acting wasn't that good; Moreno is a handsome man...but not the best singer; the characters were basically pretty obnoxious and there doesn't seem to be any point to it all. Also characters act strange for no other reason than to act strange (Billy's manager especially). Still I did enjoy it (mostly) and the songs were good. You might like this. Definitely worth a look if you love musicals.
Spuzzlightyear
'Colma the Musical' is all about a trio of friends, 1 actor, 1 gay would-be poet, and their female friend (fag hag is a good word) and their growing up and becoming distant from the suburb they live in, and from each other. This is a really nice piece, as it sure hits home how friends can be fabulous one day, and the next, you're like, 'eh, get away from me'. The performances in this one were pretty great. The actor type guy was CUTE *ahem, sorry*, and wished the gay poet guy and the actor guy could have traded roles. JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO HAVE FANTASIES ABOUT HIM. (ahem, sorry (cough) There were some great songs in this one too! I still can remember several, even after the screening I went to, well over a month ago.My main problem is that the film looked the budget (eg not very much) in many shots.) I guess a lot was saved for the music and choreography first! That's all right I guess, because the movie does have some great ideas about turning the musical on it's head!
bostonvoc
I only knew about H.P. Mendoza from his music. I didn't even know what he looked like. This movie blew my mind. If Ghost World were a musical, and They Might Be Giants helped out, you'd have Colma.It feels like no other musical I've ever seen. It has that alternative edge that a lot of other musicals claim to have. And I don't mean alternative like Nickelback. I mean like that alternative sound that's been alternative since the eighties.And the characters are so free and trapped at the same time. Every character has some major faults, but you can't help but like them all. Rent wishes it were this realistic.I swear, if you like They Might Be Giants, Cake, Presidents of the USA, and all of those bands like that, you will absolutely love Colma: The Musical.
