2021 Year in Review: Ranking the Movie Musicals

We have reached the end of the year, which means we will be sharing our best-of list with you. The musical genre has had many films come out this year with some really good and not-so-good movies. So today, I share with you my 2021 Movie Musicals Ranked.

1. Cyrano
   
   One of the true surprises of 2021 for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect and walked away impressed with so much of this film. Peter Dinklage was a force to be reckon with alongside castmates in Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Haley Bennett. A fun little film with some good pieces within.
   
2. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
   
   The script was moving, and the songs brought us into the world of discovering, finding oneself, and being okay with the idea not everyone will accept you. The movie had a fantastic performance from Max Harwood as Jamie. I loved the coming of age style story it brings us on that made you fall in love with Jamie’s journey.
   
3. Annette
   
   Adam Driver delivers one of the best performances within the first act of this movie that you will see in any film this year. The entire movie isn’t grand and the choices it decides to make are wild and outlandish, but I appreciate what they tried to do with it all.
   
4. tick,tick…Boom!
   
   I didn’t love it as much as my MCDI partner Jacob (check out his fantastic review here), but I still loved the movie a whole lot. Garfield gives an outstanding performance as Jonathan Larson. While the songs are hit and miss for me, Garfield demands you to pay attention throughout the entirety of the film. I loved what he brought to the table and seeing him in this role highlighted that I would love to see more like this out of him.
   
5. In The Heights
   
   Throughout this film, there were several songs I felt like they were beating over our heads and I couldn’t get over that at all. I liked this movie, I do, but the overbearing songs left me more disinterested than invested.
   
6. West Side Story
   
   West Side Story is a film that has fantastic elements, with Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist and Josh Andres Rivera all giving knockout performances. However, the film has horrible features with a story structure that is uneven, poorly written and a miscast lead. I wanted to like it but ended up with a sour taste in my mouth.
   
7. Dear Evan Hansen
   
   All you need to know about how I feel about this film you can read here.