Is this a technically perfect vocal performance that will send chills up your spine? No. Is it one of the most hilariously nasty musical numbers ever committed to celluloid? Absolutely. Carol Burnett plays the drunken, embittered Miss Hannigan, a woman with the horrible luck of running an orphanage despite the fact that she cant stand children, in a way that no one else could. She adds so many little touches and bits of business to the performance that make it memorable, and enjoyable long after Tomorrow and Its a Hard Knock Life have worn out their welcome.
37. Ladies Who Lunch - Camp
This is a hard one to describe, because its just so absurd. All of the characters in this film are musical theater lovers attending a performing arts summer camp, and part of the quirkiness of the story is that theyre all putting on musicals that are seriously age-inappropriate. Thats how you end up with a young Anna Kendrick performing Ladies Who Lunch from Company, most famously sung by a middle-aged Elaine Stritch. And to be fair, the intense little girl sings the hell out of it. It was clear even back then that she was an immensely talented performer, even when shes involved in such an odd, disorientating musical number.