Mary Poppins (rewatch) — 3.5/5
I'm conflicted on this movie because when Poppins is poppin,' man, what a movie. Extreme highs. And then there are long stretches where I'm just ready for it to move along to the next scene. It's a type of movie that's just an excuse for things to happen. It mostly doesn't care about using scenes and lyrics to further plot or progress character. It just wants to be a good time. What about a dance on the rooftops with chimbley sweeps? What if everyone laughed so much they floated? A dance with penguins? Sure, why not, let's explore that. There's fun in that, for sure, but it leaves me feeling like it's a great album with some songs you definitely skip; almost closer to 'Fantasia' than most other Disney movies. I'm also watching this again because of a sudden fascination with Dick Van Dyke, his immediate likeability (and subsequent lack of a strong resume). He's all slapstick and stretchy face—and he can dance! He's Buster Keaton and Fred Astaire, in a combination that both feels dated, and doesn't. Mary Poppins is likeable, but unknowable. Bert—every much the equal to her in terms of screen time—is welcoming. She is Mystery Incarnate, and everything he is is written on his face. He's the linchpin to this world, connecting the lower parts to the upper parts, the base with the lofty. Mary Poppins uses magic to float above the others; he uses magic to enjoy life down on the ground. She's magic; he's a believer. And the hatred for his accent is a sin I'll put on par with Audrey Hepburn being shit on for My Fair Lady. He's a living cartoon. He's not real. He lives in our heads, and that's how y'all fuckers sound up there.
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