What Happens in Brigadoon Stays in Brigadoon ... Literally

Last night I watched Brigadoon for the first time, which is kind of surprising because it's been recommended, or at least mentioned to me, plenty of times over the years. I just never sat down to watch it. So thanks to Netflix, the time finally came.

Let me just say, it was not what I expected. I knew it was a musical and I knew it was set in Scotland, but that's about all I had to go on. Little did I know the insanity that would ensue!

I don't want to give away to much because Brigadoon, unlike most musicals, actually has some plot twists. Amazingly, I couldn't guess everything that was going to happen within the first ten minutes.

The film revolves around Gene Kelly and Van Johnson getting a little lost in the Scottish hillside. While wondering around, contemplating the meaning of life, they notice a little town down the road that, strangely, isn't on their map. At this point, I thought the movie could easily turn into a horror movie, and I still maintain that it would be a valid premise for a future remake.

Anyway, they head down to this little town hoping to be able to rest and find some food. They quickly notice that the locals are a little weird (still almost a potential horror movie), until Gene Kelly meets (and instantly falls in love with) Cyd Charisse. He proceeds to follow her around and sing and dance with her while Van Johnson stays in town and gets drunk.

From here, the movie turns into a strange mixture of every 50's musical, Kate & Leopold, and The Village.

The movie is very original, I'll give it that. Unfortunately, I can't say much else for it. I realize some people really love this movie, but it just didn't win me over. The songs were mostly forgettable and the dancing was just ok. Being a Lerner and Lowe musical I was expecting a little more.

However, the story was interesting, if not a little strange, and it mostly kept me guessing so it was certainly worth a viewing!

Most importantly, it made me desperately want to watch every other musical I own after a sad hiatus in musical-watching due to general busyness and not wanting to force my husband to watch them all with me. But now I've decided he can handle it.