The Beautician and the Beast
Cliff Eidelman
" Great main theme is the crowning achievement of this lovely little score "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The Beautician and the Beast (thriving on the success of Fran Drescher aka The Nanny) was a film that followed the same path of movies such as The Sound of Music or The King and I, while using perhaps The Nanny most for the fact a beautician is hired for a job she isn't suited for. Hardly a success as The Nanny was, this film nonetheless gave Cliff Eidelman the opportunity to flesh out those romantic thoughts in his head. After all, 2007 was the last great year for Eidelman fans, with Free Willy 3 and this one delivering the last grand scores of his career. The Beautician and the Beast is not grand art, but it has one amazing advantage, namely the main theme that dominates this album.
Though only 30 minutes long (or short), The Beautician and the Beast is perfectly capable for presenting its material on such an amount of time. It opens and closes literally with the theme, whilst stating it more then enough for the remainder of the time. As said, the opener and closer are the finest of the bunch. In "Prelude" I basically love the fact it moves along on the glorious sounds of a waltz, while at the end there's room in "The Prince and the Princess" to finally release a full romantic version of the theme, showing perhaps best of all Eidelman's still overpowering magic over us.
And in between that, expect multiple versions of this theme (sadly never so overtly romantic and lush). There's a wonderful sense of curiosity in "The Castle", there's a comedic variation on the theme in waltz like style in "Party Preparations" while lovely or sad versions of the theme keep pouring through in "Falling for the President", "Cinderella's Confession" and "Going Away". This is topped by Rachel Portman comedic interludes such as "Pochenko Meets the Peasants" and "The Chicken", while the Socialist International anthem was used as national anthem for the fictional country Slovetzia in "L'Internationale".
All in all, The Beautician and the Beast has the amazing advantage of having that lush theme, because it needs it badly. The rest of the score (while pleasant) just isn't creating the same romantic blush as that theme, and lacks that magical love powder too harshly. So this score (re pressed by Amazon due to popular demand) isn't perhaps the long lost treasure from Cliff Eidelman, but there's something about that main theme that makes me keep on dancing with a grand smile.
Favorite Moment - The Prince and the Princess (0.53 - 1.35)
Yes, the theme does get a full romantic encore at the end of the score
Track Listing
1. Prelude (1.12) Excellent track
2. Joy Falls on a Cloud (1.18)
3. The Castle (1.37)
4. Party Preparations (1.40)
5. Walking on the Edge (1.28)
6. Falling for the President (2.35)
7. Pochenko Meets the Peasants (2.07)
8. L'Internationale * (1.45)
9. Kleist Blackmails Joy (2.02)
10. His Excellency (0.34)
11. Cinderella's Confession (1.51)
12. The Chicken (1.09)
13. Ballroom Waltz (1.31)
14. The J Waltz ** (2.43)
15. Boris' Proud Speech (1.10)
16. You Are a Beast (2.10)
17. Going Away (2.20)
18. The Prince and the Princess (1.35) Excellent track
* Written by Eugene Pottier and Pierre Degeyter
** Written by Jerry Graff
Total Length: 30.47
Though only 30 minutes long (or short), The Beautician and the Beast is perfectly capable for presenting its material on such an amount of time. It opens and closes literally with the theme, whilst stating it more then enough for the remainder of the time. As said, the opener and closer are the finest of the bunch. In "Prelude" I basically love the fact it moves along on the glorious sounds of a waltz, while at the end there's room in "The Prince and the Princess" to finally release a full romantic version of the theme, showing perhaps best of all Eidelman's still overpowering magic over us.
And in between that, expect multiple versions of this theme (sadly never so overtly romantic and lush). There's a wonderful sense of curiosity in "The Castle", there's a comedic variation on the theme in waltz like style in "Party Preparations" while lovely or sad versions of the theme keep pouring through in "Falling for the President", "Cinderella's Confession" and "Going Away". This is topped by Rachel Portman comedic interludes such as "Pochenko Meets the Peasants" and "The Chicken", while the Socialist International anthem was used as national anthem for the fictional country Slovetzia in "L'Internationale".
All in all, The Beautician and the Beast has the amazing advantage of having that lush theme, because it needs it badly. The rest of the score (while pleasant) just isn't creating the same romantic blush as that theme, and lacks that magical love powder too harshly. So this score (re pressed by Amazon due to popular demand) isn't perhaps the long lost treasure from Cliff Eidelman, but there's something about that main theme that makes me keep on dancing with a grand smile.
Favorite Moment - The Prince and the Princess (0.53 - 1.35)
Yes, the theme does get a full romantic encore at the end of the score
Track Listing
1. Prelude (1.12) Excellent track
2. Joy Falls on a Cloud (1.18)
3. The Castle (1.37)
4. Party Preparations (1.40)
5. Walking on the Edge (1.28)
6. Falling for the President (2.35)
7. Pochenko Meets the Peasants (2.07)
8. L'Internationale * (1.45)
9. Kleist Blackmails Joy (2.02)
10. His Excellency (0.34)
11. Cinderella's Confession (1.51)
12. The Chicken (1.09)
13. Ballroom Waltz (1.31)
14. The J Waltz ** (2.43)
15. Boris' Proud Speech (1.10)
16. You Are a Beast (2.10)
17. Going Away (2.20)
18. The Prince and the Princess (1.35) Excellent track
* Written by Eugene Pottier and Pierre Degeyter
** Written by Jerry Graff
Total Length: 30.47