Depressing movie that attempts to use lively 1930s songs to prop up its dispiriting script. On paper it was right up my alley. I enjoy musicals and I enjoy Depression-era films. The musical scenes here are actors lip-synching to artists from the period, so that's about as flat as could be. In between the songs we get unlikable characters doing terrible things, badly acted by a cast that seems unsure if they are in a comedy or a drama. Steve Martin in particular is terrible, delivering straight lines with his nasally Jerk-like "I was born a poor Black child" tone of voice. It's a bit of a shock he worked again after this. The only reason I don't rate it lower is the production isn't bad. But in no way am I endorsing this waste of time.
Review of Pennies from Heaven
