Hello, Dolly! - 7 stars out of 10

Hello, Dolly! - 7 stars out of 10

"Hello, Dolly!" is high class.  This 1890's period piece is delightful as Barabara Streisand lights up the screen with her incredible costumes and adorable disposition.  I can definitely understand the criticism about Streisand (at age 29) being cast to play a widow who has coped with her husband's death for many years BUT... she is so incredible in this role vocally and charasmatically that she is a perfect fit.  Despite mixed critical reviews, the film won 3 of its 7 Oscar nominations, though I cannot understand how it did not win for Best Costume Design.  The rest of the actors were well cast, particularly a young Michael Crawford as Cornelius, Walter Matthau as the grumpy Horace Vandergelder, a charming Marianne McAndrew as Irene Molloy, and E.J. Peaker as the obnoxiously lovable Minnie Fay.  The casting is complete when Louis Armstrong appears with one of the greatest cameos in cinema history.  If there was an award for Best Choreography, this film definitely would have won.  The dinner sequence is just plain impressive - rarely have I seen choreography that clean or creative.  And then when Cornelius and Barnaby start dancing along with the waiters?  Hilarious.  "Hello, Dolly!" is a solid film filled with happy-go-lucky music and memorable characters that will make you smile with every line - how could anybody resist?  And if that's not enough, this is the film that Disney-Pixar deemed appropriate to bring back humanity in their film, "WALL-E"!  You definitely can't argue with Disney and Pixar, so add it to your list!