Sweet Charity
Director: Bob Fosse
Year Released: 1969
Rating: 2.0
Frantic adaptation of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria (which, despite some minor flaws, shouldn't have been tinkered with), taking a story of a hooker with a heart of gold (who gets abused by a lot of greasy or goofy men) and making it a G-rated musical romp for the whole family. The rabid editing and Fosse's flamboyant direction are formidable, but the film's length is a real issue, with a lot of digressions that take up more time than they should. The ending, also straight from Cabiria, leaves Shirley McLaine in a lurch but doesn't have the same redeeming poetic majesty. It's kind of a warm up to Fosse's masterpiece Cabaret.
