This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

If you love Stephen Sondheim you'll love Company. Maybe not his absolute best as a whole, Sweeney Todd from a personal opinion is his masterpiece, but has everything that is to love about his musicals and quite possibly his most accessible too. Smartly written, funny and poignant with clever, poetic lyrics and beautiful music as well as characters you can identify with, even when not Sondheim's very best it is one of his best. The story is somewhat unconventional in that there isn't hugely much of one, but it is still so entertaining while taking on a very emotional journey that you don't care. It also develops its characters strongly, and relationships are handled in a deft and sometimes cynical way.This is an excellent production. For me the Neil Patrick Harris production from 2011 was marginally better, the omission of Tick-Tock in this production was disappointing(though it's not the first time it's been cut from the show) and Angel Desai has a few moments of strain in Another Hundred People. The 2011 production has Tick-Tock and has Another Hundred People sung perfectly. The orchestra don't sound as powerful either, those who love the big band Sondheim will want to look elsewhere as how it's performed here is part of John Doyle's concept, with some of the actors also taking on the roles of instrumentalists. To be said though, it did work very well for the production and was very well performed.Doyle's stage direction is fine, it is minimalist and done like a cabaret act- Company is essentially a concept musical in the first place so doing something different is not a problem- but the smart, funny moments still make you laugh and the poignant moments genuinely moving. The piano is like a character itself in this production and it's very effectively done, with people singing on top of it and also bringing out Bobby's "boyish voyeur". The production is also remarkably intimate, that works because some of the themes in Company require that touch, and it was good that it was clear that Bobby was the focal point while not wholly neglecting the supporting cast.Production values-wise, the production is striking in how simple it is. Some may find it stark in colour, and it is understandable with the performers in black and the stage being bare a lot of the time, but personally it fitted perfectly with the intimacy of the staging. The video directing is clear, while not cinematic it's never stage bound either as well as not too close or too distant, there's a good deal of professionalism here. With the close ups of Bobby's face you can feel and see the emotion. The sound is excellent and the picture quality is generally good.Raul Esparza does a wonderful job as Bobby, he has a lovely voice and has a great sensitivity, charisma and boyish charm. Barbara Walsh attacks her role with fierce abandon and a good sense of worldliness(especially in Ladies at Lunch), true she's not Elaine Stritch nor did she try or need to be. Her voice is great, it's not as volcanic as Patti Lupone's but quality-wise it is a much more appealing sound. Angel Desai does sound a little strained at times in her big number Another Hundred People but is appropriately saucy and charming. Heather Laws is wonderfully intense, Elizabeth Stanley is affecting and warm personality-wise and the male ensemble while simplified in number sing beautifully.All in all, excellent and hugely enjoyable. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this production on Broadway in 2006 and was underwhelmed despite loving Raul Esparza in the lead and really connecting with the original material (via the cast album and previous stagings). I was a little disappointed then when I heard that this production was going to be filmed/taped as I didn't want this to be the "Company" of record. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the television version. Kudos to Lonny Price (whose stage work I haven't always admired) for bringing clarity to the action as well as to the relationships among the characters in his camera direction (the stage direction is by John Doyle). What was unintelligible on stage is now clear thanks to the use of close-ups and montage. This will never be my favorite Company (not nearly "New York" enough -- and I still maintain that the show works best set in its original time frame -- 1970), but what disappointed on stage has become a very entertaining and interesting production of a great "problem" musical.

I first watched this movie several months ago, and I didn't particularly understand the ending (which I won't elaborate on). I watched it a second time, loved it throughly! Steven Sondheim has truly made one of the most beautiful musical masterpieces, really all of his works to so. This music is enthralling, the cast is top notch, the musicians (also the cast) is superb. The direction incorporates the instruments so well, they mesh them into the setting so well that you hardly notice, and you think that all shows should be like this (though they should not, this one just seems to become so much better with it). The sets and props, minimal though they are, are great!A wonderful way to spend two hours.

Since PBS's "Great Performances" was the first time I ever watched any version of Stephen Sondheim's late '60s/early '70s musical "Company", I didn't really have any idea what to expect. Actually, to go back, I've read some reviews and looked at the back of a DVD of a documentary of the original run of the show and I knew it had something to do with marriages and relationships and many of these couples being the friends of this one single guy. Bobby is his name, I believe. Anyway, it takes place at his apartment where everyone is waiting for him to show up for his surprise birthday. And then it goes back and forth in his conversations with these friends and with some of his former dates. Since it's Sondheim, you definitely don't expect anything conventional to be going on. In fact, this version is even more unusual since the entire cast are also playing instruments while enacting their parts. Most of the women are fine here especially the ones playing Marta and Joanne. And I was impressed throughout with Raul Esparza as the leading character especially when he sang "Being Alive". Nice humorous touches throughout and still a timely observation of what it's like trying to connect with love in the big city. For that reason, not to mention Sondheim himself discussing his contributions in a separate segment afterward, I highly recommend this version of "Company".