Bye Bye Birdie - 1963

Mildly entertaining. Since this storyline has always seemed a little silly, it has never been one of my favorite musicals. Even so, it still had several strengths, with the superb performances of Dick Van Dyke and Ann Margaret probably being at the forefront. Unfortunately, there were several equally weak performances that detracted from the film. The music was enjoyable with some great humor, but several of the numbers from the play have been cut in this film version as well as several major storyline changes. Just Ok. ***

The Gin Game - 2003

Dreadful story! This dark drama takes the viewer through the inner struggles of two elderly people as they share their lives during their gin games. As an actual fan of what I refer to as “intelligent drama”, I expected to enjoy this film but the story never came together for me and only managed to be depressing. The roles were masterfully portrayed by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, but their previous work shadows this film and made their roles seem a little unbelievable. As mentioned by others, the language was terrible and very much “in your face” – definitely more than the characters or the situation warranted. Ridiculously abrupt ending! Definitely better choices out there.  *