I like both of them, a lot. My Fair Lady may be a "why" musical, but it's a good "why" musical (at least, I think so). I think that there are definite advantages to just adding (good) music to a story - heck, Sondheim did it himself with Sweeney Todd, which was already a (pretty darn good) play (and possibly a novel?) before he musicalized it.

As to the changes - yeah, the ending of Pygmalion is great, and My Fair Lady makes it happier, more saccharine, but that was rather the way with musicals at the time (and, to a large extent, today - Wicked anyone?) and it's a trend I certainly don't hate. I enjoy having my heart warmed. And as to what Maysa says, I'm convinced that the book and lyrics of MFL allow for an interpretation that is quite unromantic throughout most of the plotline. The movie doesn't take the most unromantic of interpretations, certainly, but the best live performance I've seen of it (at my high school, believe it or not, but our Eliza Doolittle was the most talented musical actress I've ever seen outside of a Broadway show, and better than most of them. Sadly, she is now married and working in a store that sells stuff on Ebay, in Hattiesburg, MS, rather than wowing audiences) definitely took a less romantic interpretation of it, which I quite enjoyed.

I don't object to The Lion King taking big elements from the plot of Hamlet but leaving out the suicide and massacres, either.

I don't object to The Lion King taking big elements from the plot of Hamlet

Or, more infamously, Kimba the White Lion.

(sidenote -- I wish Wendy Hiller was remembered more - she was one tough actress and my definitive Eliza Doolittle.)

Gotta second this. Seems like she pops up in so many movies where you wouldn't expect her.

X Men 3 pics.

At least Beast is furrier than Nightcrawler was, but still. Storm's got black streaks in her hair. Why in god's name?

Hmmph.

Also need to throw in a recommend of CHARADE for Audrey Hepburn. Total Hitchcock pastiche, but so much fun (plus, Cary Grant).

Frank, you've given me a great segue to one we saw over the weekend. Touch of Pink is a romantic comedy about a young Ismaili (think Pakistani Muslim) man living in London, the mother living in Toronto who wants him to marry a successful Ismaili woman, and the English UNICEF economist with whom the young Ismaili man has a live-in relationship. And did I mention that the English UNICEF economist is male?

Mother drops in on son for a surprise visit as a (male) cousin back in Toronto is getting ready to marry a dentist. Complications ensue.

It's a pleasant, undemanding little movie that provides a few laughs. The one twist is that the young Ismaili man has a guardian angel -- the spirit of Cary Grant, played (quite well) by Kyle McLachlan.

(ETA: Yes, there's a shout-out to Charade. And several other Grant movies, including a scene with a lengthy quote from The Philadelphia Story.)

She [Halle Berry] returned out of fondness for her co-stars. But she's a little worried. "When your first two do so well and are so loved by the fans, it can make you nervous. We don't want to disappoint."

Oh honey, no need to worry about disappointing. It's not as if your performances were loved by the fans.

Oh, Fred Pete, thanks for reminding me about that movie! I've been meaning to track it down for a while.

I watched Rushmore again over the weekend and liked it a lot more than the first time I saw it, but I still think Bottle Rocket is the best movie Wes Anderson ever made. The thing that bugs me most about Rushmore is that I find Max Fischer really creepy, and it's hard for me to want things to work out well for him.

As to the changes - yeah, the ending of Pygmalion is great, and My Fair Lady makes it happier, more saccharine, but that was rather the way with musicals at the time

I can see that, but the ending of Pygmalion is just so wonderful - she's completely under her own agency now, and she's making a very deliberate choice to move out from under a shadow - that I can't help but resent the end of MFL. I really do.

Really want to see Touch Of Pink, though.

See, I always like to think that the next line, after "Where the devil of my slippers?" is "I don't know, Henry, why don't you get your lazy arse off the couch and find them yourself? I'll be sitting over there, ready for you to discover the difference between 'woman you love' and 'well-trained puppy.'"

I can't see any reason their relationship would stop being built on arguments just because she comes back to him.