Bathtubs Over Broadway

2018

Action / Comedy / Documentary / Music

3
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 90% · 37 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 90% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 7.6/10 10 1289 1.3K

composer record collection theater director industry corporate world music fan

Plot summary

When he started as a comedy writer for the Late Show with David Letterman, Steve Young had few interests and not many friends outside of his day job. But while gathering material for a segment on the show, Steve stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever.

Director

Dava Whisenant Photo
Dava Whisenant

Top cast

Florence Henderson Photo
Florence Henderson as Self
Adam Lambert Photo
Adam Lambert as Self
Ed McMahon Photo
Ed McMahon as Self
Tony Randall Photo
Tony Randall as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
800.13 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 4
1.61 GB
1920*1024
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by yzazz 9 / 10

Everything's Coming Up Toilets

Snark turns into heart as former Letterman head-writer Steve Young becomes more and more involved in the mysterious world of industrial musicals.For several decades, unbeknownst to the general public, corporate America treated its sales and management staff to custom made musical theater, all themed to product lines and selling strategies. Through the discovery of some souvenir records, originally obtained for "Dave's record collection" bits on Late Night with David Letterman, Young goes down the rabbit hole of this bizarre world of big-budget corporate one-off musicals. The film begins offering bits and pieces of this strange world as Young's obsession with collecting the rare relics leads him to contacting various players from the world of industrial musicals.Early-on, it becomes clear that Young's appreciation has moved beyond snark into genuine affection. He still finds the music absurd, but he is charmed by It nonetheless. However, for the first half of the film he appears to be on a self-serving, obsessive quest to acquire these records, and the relationships he develops with other collectors he seem to be just a means to that end. Gradually, he begins to meet the players involved in the creation of the musicals: the songwriters and actors, many of whom used these evanescent works as their sole means of support. He, and the film's audience, cannot help but be charmed by these characters and their enthusiasm for what they created. It is only toward the latter third of the film that Young moves from a fairly engaging guide through the history of industrial musicals to a character the audience can root for. He goes from a sort of disaffected comedy nerd to a more evolved and empathetic human being. It's that sub-plot that gives this gem of a documentary it's real heart.
Reviewed by Green-Irish-Eyes 9 / 10

Come for the kitsch, stay for the fun!

As a former would-be Broadway actor, I always SO wanted to get cast in an "industrial." I never made it, but at last I can participate, even if only from the audience.This little film is a gem, and you'll learn more than you ever suspected you didn't know about this art form. It's great fun!
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