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How others will see it. This famous film won a pile of Academy Awards. This means it is either entertaining on a vast scale, or it presents important and politically correct themes. West Side Story scores on both counts. Women can enjoy it for the dramatic love story. Men can relish the gang posturing. Intellectuals are pounded over the head with its anti-racist message.
But with musicals generally out of favor, it seems odd that street punks would begin to slide, spin, and otherwise dance like they're members of a testosterone ballet troupe. Likewise the giddy lovestruck singing between Tony and Maria (all of which is dubbed) seems a bit precious to those with cynical ears.
How I felt about it. The irony is that the two gangs have much in common. Besides the aforementioned prediliction toward singing, dancing, and finger-snapping, both gangs enjoy parading in group fashion down the alley as if they own the place. Which, in their minds, they do.
Neither gang has much of an economic future. In theory, they should pull resources, belong to the same union, attend the same Catholic churches, and vote democratic. In practice, birds of a feather flock together, and ethnic hate triumphs, even among the cops. Only the elderly store owner, and our spectacularly good-looking lovers, can see that we're all the same inside our skins.
West Side Story, of course, is a New York slum reworking of Romeo and Juliet. It also represents a rare and ambitious attempt by Hollywood to install culture into a young, mass audience. This was accomplished by bringing in obliging classical composer Leonard Bernstein, and respected choreographer Jerome Robbins. The cast members look several years too old for their characters, however, and the message of racism as evil is heavy-handed.
In terms of how the Puerto Ricans are portrayed, the film passes the smell test. The group poorly presented are the Jets' girlfriends. They appear petty and immature.
The turning point of the film isn't the instantly requited true love between Tony and Maria. It occurs when Tony agrees to follow Maria's bad advice. The boiling pot must release steam now and then, or it will explode. At the rumble, Tony seeks to seal the cauldron while it is hot from the flames. Bad idea.
Never mind that Tony looks more Puerto Rican than Natalie Wood. Can love form a bridge between rival ethnic gangs? Not a chance. But love can exist between individuals, even though this love is usually interesting onscreen only when it is both fresh and dangerous.