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Movies / On DVD / Colma: The Musical
Colma: The Musical

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Colma: The Musical (2007)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:27

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: Three teens contemplate life after high school while singing their hearts out in this fresh musical.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language including sexual references.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Jun 22, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: Taking place in the suburban town of Colma, where the dead outnumber the living 1500 to 1, Colma: The Musical takes the music of H.P. Mendoza and weaves it into a fresh personal look into the ups... Taking place in the suburban town of Colma, where the dead outnumber the living 1500 to 1, Colma: The Musical takes the music of H.P. Mendoza and weaves it into a fresh personal look into the ups and downs of early adulthood. Best pals Rodel, Billy, and Maribel find themselves in a state of limbo; fresh out of high school, they are just beginning to explore a new world of part-time mall jobs and crashing college parties. As newfound revelations and romances challenge their relationships with one another and their parents, the trio must assess what to hold onto, and how to best follow their dreams. Billy is an aspiring actor with big dreams; but there is nothing big about Colma. When he is cast in a local play, his mundane routine of dead-end mall jobs and late-night small-town romps with Rodel and Maribel are challenged by glimpses of a bigger life. Rodel can be the life of the party – if he feels like it. But at home, with his brother in prison, he carries the pressure of being the “good kid" in his family. Rodel’s relationship with his father is fading as their communication has been reduced to screaming at each other across the house. However, a secret Rodel keeps from him will force a confrontation; for better or worse. Maribel loves a party, especially crashing them. Helping Rodel and Billy land fake ID’s, she constantly is trying to get them into the “in” parties. When the friendships between the three become challenged, she does what she can to keep them all together; but she begins to wonder if the only thing permanent in her life is Colma. Colma: The Musical boasts 13 musical numbers featuring all original music by H.P. Mendoza and is Richard Wong’s feature directorial debut. It has been awarded the Special Jury Prize at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. --© Official Site [More]

Starring: H.P. Mendoza, Jake Moreno, L.A. Renigen, Sigrid Sutter

Starring: H.P. Mendoza, Jake Moreno, L.A. Renigen, Sigrid Sutter

Director: Richard Wong

Director: Richard Wong
Screenwriter: H.P. Mendoza
Producer: Paul Kolsanoff, Richard Wong
Composer: H.P. Mendoza
Studio: Roadside Attractions

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Release:

Nov 20, 2007

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Reviews for Colma: The Musical

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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The bland sameness and numb predictability of life in Colma might make for adequate sociology, it makes for a poor antagonist

Full Review Source: Cinemania | comment Comment
02/06/07
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Cinemania

This is a potentially brilliant scenario, so it's unfortunate that Colma pays so little attention to Colma; it may as well be set anywhere.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/05/07
Julia Wallace
Julia Wallace
Village Voice

The songs sound like they were recorded on a toy synthesizer in someone's basement, and neither of the two male leads can sing.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 1 Comment
07/06/07
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A winning amalgam of MySpace-ish self-involvement, digital video immediacy and 'Hey kids, let's put on a show' gumption.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/12/07
Los Angeles Times

Richard Wong's DV-shot musical channels an earnest, let's-put-on-a-show-ethos into a melancholy celebration of the titular San Francisco suburb.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
06/19/07
Adam Nayman
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY

breezy and irreverent in idiom, yet it examines with sometimes wry, but always unflinching, even brutal, honesty, the impact and consequences of emotional betrayal. And it does so without missing a beat, or a combination step.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/26/07
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Colma works because the filmmakers believe it can and aren't listening to anyone who tells them otherwise.Take a visit to Colma, you won't regret it.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
08/23/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Colma is so blazingly original that it bursts off the screen with the sort of breathtaking energy that reminds you why you love movies in the first place.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/12/07
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Director Richard Wong is alert to every nuance, cleverly framing the heavily satirical situations with appropriate deadpan affection and deft use of split-screen.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
07/09/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

Amerindie Colma: The Musical just gives the kids music they like and characters they can identify with, forgetting any grandiosity.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/12/06
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Colma: The Musical is a great big surprise, a riotous, effervescent and even gritty treat

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
09/27/06
Doug Wallen
Doug Wallen
Philadelphia Weekly

After film versions of Dreamgirls and Rent, Colma: The Musical feels like a palette cleanser.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
06/07/07
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

H.P. Mendoza’s clever melodies and pointedly constructed rhymes rescue the movie from the detriments of its tired plot and unfocused pace.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
07/18/07
Eric Kohn
Eric Kohn
New York Press

Wonderfully staged numbers -- a raucous song in a tavern, a lovely ballad sung in a cemetery with couples dancing through the tombstones -- that give this little indie a big heart.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/03/07
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Colma: the Musical makes up in heart what it lacks in glitz and real, singable songs.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
08/25/07
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Surprisingly delightful, hilarious.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/22/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Suburban teenage frustration: Didn’t it always go down best with a salty side of Journey? Or the Smiths?

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
07/12/07
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out

There hasn't been a movie that lays out the confusion and heartbreak of the first tentative steps into adulthood this mercilessly since Ghost World.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
07/09/07
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

Mendoza's 13 original numbers...provide the slender story with structure, and overall the songs are surprisingly catchy despite the bare-bones music production and the fact that of the leads, only Renigen has a standout voice.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/06/07
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An itty-bitty movie with a great big heart, Colma: The Musical is about how we learn to give voice -- joyfully, honestly, loudly -- to the truest parts of ourselves.

comment Comment
07/06/07
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
 
 
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