The Music Man (2003 film)

The Music Man is a 2003 American made-for-television romance musical film directed by Jeff Bleckner with a teleplay by Sally Robinson. It is based on the 1957 musical of the same name by Meredith Wilson, which in turn was based on a story by Wilson and Franklin Lacey. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth and features David Aaron Baker, Debra Monk, Victor Garber, and Molly Shannon. It was originally broadcast on ABC on February 16, 2003, as the eleventh episode of the forty-seventh season of "The Wonderful World of Disney." It was watched by 13.1 million viewers, with a 3.8 rating/9 share in adults aged 18–49.
Plot.
A group of traveling salesmen discuss a con artist named Harold Hill on a train. One salesman, Charlie Cowell (Patrick McKenna), tells the others that Hill goes around promising parents that he will start a boys' band if they pay him for instruments and uniforms. A man (Matthew Broderick) gets off the train and reveals himself to be Hill. He arrives in River City, Iowa where he is greeted with sneers from its citizens. He meets up with his friend Marcellus Washburn (David Aaron Baker) and discusses his plan. Washburn warns him of a stuck-up librarian, Marian Paroo (Kristin Chenoweth), who will find out about any scheme he plans. Hill asks him if there is any news in the city and Marcellus tells him that the town bought a pool table for the billiard hall. Hill takes advantage of this to warn parents that the pool table will bring havoc to their town. On her way home, Marian sees the commotion and is secretly followed home by Hill. When she arrives, she teaches a piano lesson to her student Amaryllis (Megan Moniz) and argues with her mother (Debra Monk) about her stubbornness to get married. Marian's brother, Winthrop (Cameron Monaghan) is mocked by Amaryllis for having a lisp, though Amaryllis reveals to Marian that she has a crush on Winthrop. Marian and Amaryllis both vow to say goodnight to their "someones" until they find someone to love. 
Later, during a town meeting, local hooligan Tommy Djilas (Clyde Alves) puts a firecracker next to Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn (Molly Shannon), Mayor Shinn (Victor Garber)'s wife. He is reprimanded but Hill steals the spotlight to advertise for his new boys' band in River City. After the meeting, Hill sends Djilas on a date with Zaneeta Shinn (Cameron Adams), unaware that this is the mayor's daughter. Hill, Djilas, Zaneeta go to an ice cream parlor but are followed by the town's school board to get Hill's credentials. Panicked, he distracts the board by pointing out that they could be a singing quartet. Hill follows Marian home again and, when asked where he got his degree, tells her that he graduated from Gary Conservatory in 1905. She warns him that her library is filled with information that could reveal the truth about him. Hill reveals to Marcellus that, along with gathering money from the entire town, he plans to woo Marian. Hill learns that when Miser Madison, the former owner of several establishments in the town, died, he left the library building to the city but he left all the books to her. Hill visits the library and flirts with Marian, who shuts down all of his advances, though she secretly admires him. Hill, then, visits Mrs. Paroo and she signs Winthrop up to play cornet in the band. Marian arrives home and, angered by Hill's presence, has Winthrop pick up a book she ordered, containing the graduating classes of Gary University aughts one through ten. 
The Wells Fargo Wagon arrives with the instruments, uniforms, and instruction booklets for the band. Meanwhile, Marian discovers that the city of Gary was founded in 1906, meaning that Hill never could have graduated in 1905. However, when she sees how happy Winthrop is by his cornet, she rips out the page she intended to show Mayor Shinn. Later, Shinn discovers that Djilas is dating Zaneeta and angrily bans him from seeing her again. He also demands to the school board that he receives Hill's credentials by the end of that night. On the day of the Fourth of July picnic, Charlie Cowell arrives in River City to tell Mayor Shinn about Hill's lies but Marian distracts him by kissing him, causing him to miss his train. As he runs after the train, he tells her that Hill's got a different girl in every town. Marian confronts Hill about his "think system," which Hill claims is a technique used by musicians to think the notes instead of actually playing him. He tries to kiss her but, with her new knowledge of his affairs, she turns him down. However, she realizes that Cowell's claims are most likely lies due to jealousy of Hill and agrees to meet him at the Foot Bridge later than evening. Hill arrives before Marian and sees a vision of him conducting the boys band in the lake. Before he can think more about it, though, Zaneeta finds him and drags him to the picnic so he can dance in the "shipoopi" dance, led my Marcellus. Afterwards, Marian and Hill head to the bridge and she assures him that she will always love him, even if he leaves her to travel to another town. He abruptly leaves her to meet with Marcellus, who has collected the money for the uniforms which have just arrived. They make a plan to leave River City at eight-thirty on a freight train. When he goes back to Marian, she admits that she knew he was lying about his education and gives him the page she tore from the book. They depart happily, deeply in love with each other. 
Meanwhile, Mayor Shinn interrupts the picnic's festivities to let Charlie Cowell speak. He tells the citizens that they've been swindled by Hill and that he plans to leave the town. The crowd follows Shinn to track down Hill and Marcellus goes to Hill's hotel room to tell him to leave. As he escaped his hotel, Winthrop tells Marian that Hill was scheming them all along. Hill arrives at the Paroo's house but Marian advises him to leave before the citizens find him. Winthrop angrily tells Hill that he hates him but Marian convinces him that Hill brought happiness to the town. Though the Paroo's try to get Harold to leave, he admits that he can't leave Marian and he is captured. Later, in a town meeting, Hill is brought in to be tarred and feathered but Djilas and Marcellus interrupt the meeting with a group of boys in band uniforms with instruments. Hill tells them to "Think men, think," and they unfortunately sound awful when they play. However, the parents are so proud of their children that they forget their anger and cheer the band on. Hill is set free and leads the crowd down the street in a parade, joined by Marian. Sometime later, the band can be seen playing Seventy-Six Trombones" and the storefront of Hill's new music emporium can be seen. 
Song list.
Notes
Production.
Although "Variety" reported Sarah Jessica Parker was being considered for the role of Marian, it ultimately went to Kristin Chenoweth.
The film was shot in Burlington, Millbrook, Milton, Uxbridge, and Toronto in Ontario, Canada from April to July 2002.
Critical reception.
Most reviewers found the film inferior to the original 1962 film version of the play, and Broderick's performance as Hill was generally compared unfavorably to Robert Preston's.
Edward Guthmann of the "San Francisco Chronicle" called it "passable entertainment" with "strong production values, excellent costumes and art direction, and a rich color palette that conjures cozy notions of small-town America in the early 20th century," but he felt it "never matches the 1962 film with its classic performance by the late Robert Preston. It was Preston ... who galvanized "The Music Man" with his vibrant, masculine authority ... Broderick, by comparison, is cute, wide-eyed, a bit squishy and about as dynamic and intimidating as Winnie the Pooh. His singing is adequate, his dancing heavy and forced. ... Meron and Zadan, who also produced the successful TV version of "Annie" in 1999 and the excellent "" in 2001, have developed a winning formula for quality television movies with bigger-than-usual budgets. "The Music Man", handsome but misbegotten, doesn't match their usual standard."
Writing for "The New York Times", Michele Willens noted, "In "The Music Man," Ms. Chenoweth finally gets a television part worthy of her talent," and she called the dances choreographed by Kathleen Marshall "inventive." 
Awards and nominations.
The production was nominated for five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Choreography and Music Direction and Outstanding Art Direction, Costumes, and Single Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie.
Jeff Bleckner was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Television Film but lost to Mike Nichols for "Angels in America".
DVD release.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film in anamorphic widescreen format on Region 1 DVD on November 11, 2003. Bonus features include interviews with members of the cast and creative team.