Stand! movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Stand!

In U.S. theaters December 1, 2020

Release language: English

Tickets on sale now here!

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 110 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Inspired by true events, this musical drama takes place in Canada in 1919 among immigrants, including many Ukrainians who arrived there to avoid conscription by a foreign army that occupied their country. Written by Rick Chafe and directed by Robert Adetuyi, you learn about a worker’s strike that lasted six weeks in Winnipeg, Canada.

The story itself inspired a stage musical called “Strike!” written by Danny Schur & Rick Chafe. They described it as “an immigrant Romeo & Juliet battle for love and a better future during a time of social upheaval.” In 2002, Danny Schur had been searching for the subject matter for his third musical when a British friend pointed out the historical strike of 1919, also known as “Bloody Saturday”.

American movie star Jeff Goldblum happened to sit next to Danny at the second-to-last show of the stage musical and told him, “Big show. Big ideas. It would make a great movie!” And here we are today with the film that premiered exactly one hundred years from the events that inspired the musical.

So as not to spoil the details, you get to see pictures of the real event at the end of the movie, along with information about how it ended.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Anti-semitic language and other prejudice against minorities
Profanity
Some violence, including blood
Young kids will be bored.

THEMES:

The world changes one heart at a time.
Immigrants
Hard work and putting in a day’s honest effort for pay.
“The more we do nothing, the more nothing changes.” – Emma (Lisa Bell, who was first spotted when she competed on “Canadian Idol.”
Race relations
The difference one person can make.
Standing up for your rights.
Discrimination of minorities

THINGS I LIKED:

I love that this story was turned into a musical! The songs are lovely and inspiring.
The film looks like a Hollywood blockbuster in terms of quality and talent. Great job!
The period pieces look believable, although a lot of the clothing looks more like costumes that needed to be more distressed to sell the look.
I loved the energetic, funny, and insightful song The Ma’am Is Mum sung by Emma (Lisa Bell) at about the half-hour mark. Her break-out song Stand inspired the name change from the stage musical to what is used in the film. She and the song are both powerful.
Beautiful and creative camera angles by two-time Emmy Award winner Roy Wagner.
For the most part, everyone’s foreign accent was pretty good, slipping into their American voice every now and then, but Gregg Henry’s Ukrainian accent was the most believable. He plays the role of Mike Sokolowski. He seems to be a favorite of director Brian De Palma, appearing in many of his films. Gregg is married to Lisa James, a noted director for the American Theater.
American viewers will be intrigued to learn a little bit about Canadian history. While it happened a hundred years ago in that country, the subject matter absolutely is relatable to today’s social environment around the world.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Sometimes it’s hard to understand what certain people say because of their thick accents. Other actors sounded like they were acting.
Some of the songs and their singers are definitely better than others.
A certain actress looks fresh and clean with bright red lipstick, even when she’s thrown in jail or working.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Hearts can change and the change starts with mine.” – Rebecca Almazoff (Laura Slade Wiggins from the popular Showtime dramedy Shameless) She’s actually married to stuntman Kyle Weishaar from John Wick.)
“When a democracy becomes tyranny, we can’t just let that go. We have to answer.” – Helen Armstrong (Hayley Sales, who holds both Canadian and American citizenship. She is known for her work in Deadpool 2 and has released 3 albums already.)
“If we do nothing, nothing changes.” – Stefan Sokolowski (Marshall Williams, who is a model and singer who was a contestant on “Canadian Idol.”)
“How can I expect to change the world if I can’t even change myself.” – Rebecca