MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

Name: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Item: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Author: Review

“Fame and Fortune Are Empty Without Family and Friends”

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is the filmed version of an acclaimed musical by Stehen Sondheim. The movie follows the story of three friends, Frank, Charley and Mary, in reverse, over three decades. It begins at the end, with a 1977 party thrown for Frank, who’s become a major Hollywood player. Mary, one of his oldest friends, calls him out for how success has changed him. She mentions his broken friendship with Charley, as well as his infidelity in his two marriages. As the 1970s turn into the 60s and late 50s, the trio’s friendship fractures under Frank’s pursuit of fame and fortune and his callous rejection of his fruitful collaboration with Charley.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is a wonderful production, full of beautiful songs, a bittersweet story, and excellent performances from stars Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. The movie’s main message is that fame and fortune are empty without the love of family and friends. That said, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for themes of marital infidelity, more than 20 obscenities, six strong profanities, and three scenes of substance abuse.

Content:

(B, LLL, V, S, AA, DD, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Moral worldview about three friends shows that fame and fortune are empty without the love of family and friends (story includes marital infidelity and dysfunctional family relationships);

Foul Language:

23 obscenities (including one “f” word), six GD profanities, five OMG profanities, and one scene where a character makes an obscene gesture;

Violence:

One character gets in a brief fight with a photographer;

Sex:

One character has an affair while married, but nothing is shown;

Nudity:

None;

Alcohol Use:

Characters are shown drinking at parties throughout the musical, with one alcoholic character drinking to excess in one scene;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

Two scenes depict characters using cocaine and smoking marijuana; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Character lies about his affair with a married woman, while he is also married.

More Detail:

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is a 2024 recorded version of a musical play by George Furth and Stephen Sondheim (one of Stephen Sondheim’s most popular Broadway musicals). Viewers follow friends Frank, Charley and Mary through the ups and downs of their relationship. This particular production won four Tony Awards.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG starts at the end, with a 1977 party thrown for Frank, who’s become a major Hollywood player. Mary, one of his oldest friends, calls him out for how success has changed him. She mentions his broken friendship with Charley, as well as his infidelity in his marriage to actress Gussie.

From there, the story moves backwards through the years, showing pivotal moments in the friendship between Frank, Charley and Mary. As the 70s turn into the 60s, viewers see the trio fracture under Frank’s pursuit of fame and fortune and his callous rejection of his fruitful creative relationship with Charley.

The pair wrote a successful Broadway show, which is where Frank meets Gussie, the actress who stars in it, who eventually breaks up his marriage. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG continues to wind the tape back, taking viewers back to Frank and Charley’s very first collaborations, Frank’s first marriage; and, eventually, the night they first met Mary.

A flop when it first opened in 1981, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG has grown to become one of Broadway’s and composer Stephen Sondheim’s most acclaimed musicals, and for good reason. The musical is full of beautiful songs by Sondheim, performed beautifully by stars Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. It’s a bittersweet story of how fame and fortune can change friendship through the years. Ultimately, fame and fortune are depicted as empty without the love of family and friends.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG contains themes of marital infidelity and dysfunctional family relationships. It also includes more than 20 obscenities, six strong profanities, some drunkenness in one scene, and two scenes with cocaine and marijuana use. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.