Rating: PG
Genre:
Musical
Release Date: 08/24/2004
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDS2.0
Run Time: 86 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: MGM
Unleashed just as the
disco phenomenon had peaked and was slipping out of public favor, this one-of-a-kind
pop musical is set in 1994, when a Mephistophelean entrepreneur named
Mr. Boogalow (
Vladek Sheybal) controls the international recording industry through the Worldvision Song Contest.
Boogalow's wildly theatrical protégés, a decedent
dance-pop group called Bim, seem a sure bet to walk off with the grand prize and worldwide fame, but at the last minute
Alphie (
George Gilmour) and
Bibi (
Catherine Mary Stewart), a
folk duo from Canada, nearly steal their thunder with their song
"Love, the Universal Melody." While
Boogalow rigs a victory for Bim, he sees moneymaking potential in
Alphie and
Bibi and offers to sign them to a contract.
Alphie, suspicious of
Boogalow, declines, but
Bibi leaps at the chance, and is soon remodeled into a stylish
pop star while heart-broken
Alphie throws in his lot with a gang of hippies living in the park.
Bibi comes to regard fame and wealth as hollow and empty, but discovers walking away from
Boogalow is easier said than done. Featuring an inarguably remarkable finale,
The Apple was shot primarily in Germany, despite being set in the United States; while
George Clinton is credited with writing lyrics for several of the original tunes, be advised it's not the same
George Clinton who led
Parliament and
Funkadelic in the 1970s and '80s.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
