Review: The Color Purple (2023)
It's an unapologetic movie musical.
Hollywood seems to have a musical problem. They used to be huge moneymakers — when adjusted for inflation, The Sound of Music made over two billion dollars, for example. They used to rake in the accolades — 10 Best Picture Oscars winners were musicals, including one this century, 2002’s Chicago.
Hollywood wants to keep making them, but has absolutely no clue how to market them. They’re afraid that if audiences know it’s a musical, they won’t come. There are three large-scale musicals coming out in the next few weeks and from their trailers and marketing materials, you’d have no idea. Timothée Chalamet doesn’t sing in a single Wonka trailer. That Mean Girls remake? Surprise! And then there’s The Color Purple, which is not another version of the original novel nor a remake of the Best Picture-nominated film, but a film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
Luckily for us, the best part of The Color Purple is that the film itself is not ashamed to be a musical. It’s big, it’s dancey, it’s practically a filmed stage play — and it’s keeping the medium alive.