GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE is a documentary-style concert that gives some big-screen treatment to Fox TV’s critically-acclaimed, Emmy award-winning musical show, GLEE. The series follows the lives of a group of teenagers as they sing and dance their way through high school.

The documentary-style movie intersperses live concert performances of hit, popular songs by the talented, young cast with interviews from GLEE fans, or gleeks as they are more commonly known. Specifically, the gleek interviews highlight young people who were, at one time, outcasts in their schools; but now they have, through the stories inspired by Fox’s musical juggernaut, learned to accept themselves without fear. While the movie interviews countless gleeks, the story really delves into the lives of three specific fans: a young woman suffering from Asperger’s Disease, a dwarf who is on her high school’s cheerleading squad and a young homosexual.

The movie intercuts between their stories and some fantastic performances by the cast. The musical numbers range from sensual pop dance numbers by characters like Brittany to powerhouse musical-theater ballads by the character of Rachel. Also included are fun duets with Artie and Mike and amazing A Capella numbers by the all-male Warblers. The concert delivers the vocal hits one after another, all to the screams and cheers of throngs of gleeks, but the 3D effects don’t add much to the production, taking a back-seat to the live performances.

The song genres range from classic rock to contemporary pop, from ‘50s soda shop to musical theater ballads. The dance numbers are fun and high energy, though at times they are too sensual and overtly sexual. The highlighted gleek interviews do little to add to the concert, sometimes even detracting from the music’s momentum. However, the interviews promote the politically correct, homosexual worldview of the show’s creators and cast. Thus, it compares the ailments of a girl with Asperger’s Disease and the problems of a teenage dwarf with finding acceptance from her cheerleading peers to the emotional struggles of a young man who says he was “born” homosexual.

GLEE’s thematic message is that, no matter someone’s age, race, creed, sexual orientation, everyone can find acceptance by a common love – in this case, the love is the love of music, and in particular, GLEE’s music. Gleeks are fanatical about how the show and the concert has inspired them. One person testifies, “GLEE makes [me] realize that all people are different, and that’s a great thing.” Another says GLEE provides them with the “playlist of [their] life.”

The production values of GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE are very high. Also, a wide variety of audiences will enjoy the movie’s music and dancing, despite the distracting interruption of the interviews.

However, the movie’s politically correct, pro-homosexual message is abhorrent. GLEE has a sugar-coated radical agenda that will ensnare many young people into a misguided, fallacious Anti-Christian attitude that rejects the moral standards of God and His church.