- Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Release Date: Aug 12, 2011
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83This rousing documentary directed by Kevin Tancharoen and shot during two live concerts in New Jersey, is a nonstop campy celebration of youthful pizazz.
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80The film is really a valentine to the fans.
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75Part of Glee's charm has always been its innocent amateurishness, its just-folks aura. The live show clings to that conceit - with some pyrotechnics thrown in.
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75For the most part, the performances can raise goosebumps, especially whenever Lea Michele, Amber Riley and Naya Rivera open their mouths.
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Aug 10, 201175The film is as emotionally manipulative as the show, but it's never appeared more truthful in its aspiration to inspire - and profit in the process.
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75A high-school talent show, no doubt, but, at its best, well worth glorifying.
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Aug 11, 201170You might leave Glee 3D feeling a little gooey all over, but that slushie does taste kind of sweet.
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67One amusing disadvantage of the crystal-clear, you-are-there 3-D cinematography, and the focus on the audience experience is that in practically every shot, it's easy to pick out off-message concertgoers who are bored, tired, or otherwise disengaged.
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63Haters, head for the door. But Gleeks? Get your "Glee" on.
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Aug 12, 201160Interviews with real-life Gleeks contribute to the signature mix of schmaltz and earnestness one can expect from any Ryan Murphy vehicle, and there's nothing here that couldn't be accomplished in good old 2-D. Still, there's no need to stop believing.
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60A blatant commodity designed to illustrate what a splendid influence the hit television show has been on the world at large, if the series' creators don't mind saying so themselves.
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Aug 10, 201160It's entertaining at face value, but they never let it be just that.
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Aug 11, 201155Can't make its mind up about what, exactly, it is.
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50The film also serves as the clearest statement of Glee's sacred mission. Through it, we can see how the entire multimedia phenomenon - the show, the albums, the iTunes hits, the recent concert tour and now this movie - has accrued the odor, say the incense, of a secular religion.
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Aug 13, 201150It's merely a trivial footnote to the popular franchise - though one that will no doubt satisfy rabid gleeks.
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50For the show's rabid viewership, these testimonials are probably integral to a celebratory experience like the "Glee" live show. To everyone else, it's all gonna be Gleek to you.
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50As for the concert itself, it's a generically big, loud, overchoreographed, over-mic'ed, post-Madonna production.
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50It's a celebration of nerd pride in all its many-feathered glory.
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50Glee the TV show has become a cult phenom with three essential ingredients: whip-smart kids, adult-sized issues, all blended to sugary pop tunes. About a third of those components made it into Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.
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Aug 11, 201150At its best, it's joyful, uplifting and even, occasionally, moving. And at its worst, it's a propaganda piece designed to win our undying loyalty to a TV show/cash cow that advocates for the little guy even though it's clearly turned into a diva.
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50Great messages, of course. But Glee: 3D is not good enough, it's not smart enough, and doggone it, well, you get the gist.
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40A lot of gleeful audience members are interviewed in Glee: The 3-D Concert Experience, though the source of their happiness could be a lot of things.
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40There is a paradox at the heart of the film. It strains to celebrate diversity and individualism, while its processed music exemplifies strict corporate teamwork.
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Aug 12, 201138The result is more like a long commercial than a cohesive movie, and the omissions are glaring.
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38Fine for fans? Sure. This stuff is crack for fans. Crack is really bad!
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38It's a working illustration of what differentiates movie stars from TV stars. When we buy a ticket for a George Clooney movie, it's because we want to see George Clooney (or Emma Stone or Tom Hanks or whomever). The real stars of "Glee," on the other hand, are the characters, not the actors.
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30The film restages the greatest hits of the show's many musical numbers, to greatly diminished effect, with lackluster choreography and all the narrative appeal stripped away.
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25The movie plays like an evangelical prayer meeting, though I'd hold the hallelujahs. The characters we came to admire as vulnerable misfits hit the stage like visiting royalty and with a nonstop perkiness that makes the Von Trapps look like manic-depressives.