Sparky and I spent the evening in one of our first real leisure activities in what seems like months, we went to see Joel Schumacher's long-awaited film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. And it's as stunning and heartbreaking as the stage version, which we've seen twice on tour during the mid 90's. The casting is perfect, the acting is wonderful, and the music is as grand as ever. We both started crying during the prologue which is a good sign of what's to come.

But we're both very familiar with the musical from seeing it fourth row center and from years of listening to the original soundtrack. But anyone with a heart should be able to appreciate the spectacle and beauty of this film, and of course, the tragic relationship between the Phantom and Christine. Nothing against Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, they're both magnificent, but it was nice to see a truly young and innocent Christine (the actress who plays her in the film is a mere 18 and she is luminous) and a more threatening, rugged and handsome Phantom. In the stage versions we saw in person, the actors were actually closer to the film casting so it will be wonderful now to have a recording to match the shows we saw live.

Apparently the only one who did not do her own singing was Minnie Driver as the diva Carlotta, but she is so wonderfully expressive and bitchy she is perfectly cast. The entire Prima Donna number would make a stunning music video to entice anyone who's not familiar with the play to come see the film. it's such a fun version of the number, we'd been listening to the new soundtrack and thought the song was incredibly well done but with the visuals it's just stunning.

But if you want something to clear the fog in your brain from the holiday rush, and leave you humming and twirling through the house (when no one is watching), please go see this film and just let it wash over you, you won't regret it. Here's hoping a new generation of fans will be as entranced by this romantic gothic fantasy as Sparky and I have been. I really can't imagine anything they could have done to make this a better film, it's as moving and lush as I ever imagined it, and I have a very fertile imagination.