Underdog Millionaire?

Well, I've done it. I've finally done it. 

For 120 minutes on the night of Memorial Day, I jumped on the Slumdog Millionaire bandwagon. 

I had wanted to see this movie when it first came out and everyone started talking about how good it was. I don't like to go see movies at the theaters, though. I hate spending almost ten dollars to get in, and I'm always very cold throughout the movie's entire duration. Mostly, though, I hate spending money. 

Anyway, I waited to see it until my mom sent me to the Redbox, telling me to get her a movie. It's only one dollar that way, AND she gave me her credit card. It's really a no-brainer. 

I see why it won Best Picture. 

I'm not going to go through the entire story, because I'm pretty sure everyone is relatively aware of the general plot. I've heard it called a classic underdog story. Aside from the canine references, however, I found it to be vastly different from that category. Sure, in the end, he wins and gets the girl. But to get there, it took a lot more than is usually shown in "underdog" films. 

Maybe I'm a sucker for flashbacks, but I absolutely loved the way this film related the hero's entire life to his current situation. I like when there are common, recurring elements weaved throughout a story. When a movie makes you think, instead of allowing you to mentally check out for a few hours, it proves that it has  sustenance to it.  

Slumdog was intentionally gruesome. The way it portrayed life in India's slums was shocking and disturbing. But, that was the point of it. That's also why it's so effective. It's not disturbing for shock value; there's a point to it, I guess. 

The acting was so intense. I hate it when a script has potential and then the actors just butcher it. The acting in this film was fairly close to flawless. It was never over the top. It was never under-played. The child roles were especially impressive. The acting made you feel like the characters were real. 

My biggest problem with this film, though, was its soundtrack. I know it won an Oscar for its score, but it ruined itself for me when I heard M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." I. Hate. That. Song. In fact, I hate it so much that I just ignored the generally accepted rules of English grammar and put a period after each word of that former sentence for emphasis. Actually, though, if you took that song out of the mix, the rest of the contributions by M.I.A. aren't all that terrible. 

I also had a problem with the full scale dance number during the credits. Yes, there was an intense dance number. And yes, I asked the same question when it came on. It felt out of place. I mean,  I guess there's something attractive about large dance numbers, but this isn't Hairspray, Footloose, or High School Musical.

Slumdog Musicalnaire. 

It doesn't have the same ring to it. 

Overall, though, this movie is pretty much awesome. I'm really upset I decided to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in theaters over this one. You should see it, because I told you to. I liked it. And since I don't like a lot, that has to be worth something.