Ahoy from My Sofa: Let’s Sing with Popeye (2024, directed by Greta Gerwig)

So, Let’s Sing with Popeye. Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting a cinematic käftsmäll this Friday evening, but blimey, it’s… something. First off, how in the name of sillsallad did Greta Gerwig end up directing a musical about an old sailor with forearms like falukorv? I nearly choked on my bregottfläck when I saw her name in the credits. And the cast! Ryan Reynolds as Popeye, flexing and flustering through spinach-fuelled choruses, and then Emily Blunt as Olive Oyl, with that nervous energy like she just drank four koppar coffee back-to-back. Feels like a fever dream, kinda like när man äter för mycket surströmming and starts hallucinating.

That One Summer in Västervik

Honestly, this whole business of spontaneous singing took me right back to a summer ’94 in Västervik, at my mormor’s. My cousins and I sang ABBA into hairbrushes, thinking we were pop stars. That’s what I felt watching these A-list actors belt out “Blow Me Down (the Love Song)” with more awkwardness than a first school disco. It’s nostalgic, but also, maybe a bit cringey? Like, I get secondhand embarrassment, but I still smile.

Feels and Falafel

The movie is loud – really LOUD. I mean, they could’ve dialed back on the klämkäck numbers. But, it’s fun, and honestly, the costume designer (Sharen Davis, legend!) deserves some kind of semla for making Reynolds look both ridiculous and strangely charming in that sailor hat. Yet, there’s something almost… comforting about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I laughed most when Popeye tries herring sushi for the first time. Har aldrig sett Reynolds do that kind of face, not since Van Wilder!

So, is it a classic? I dunno. Maybe if you’re into musicals, or if spinach is your thing. But if you’re looking for subtlety, go rewatch Fanny och Alexander, mate. Still, it’s got charm in that “let’s sing after three snaps” way.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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