YouTube Treasure: Streisand And The Alvin Ailey Dancers

I’m not here to talk about The Guilt Trip right now. Barbra Streisand is fun and looks radiant in it, but overall, it’s a meh experience.

I’d rather discuss Funny Lady, the 1975 sequel to Funny Girl, which is moody, opulent, and even more filled with Barbraisms than Richard Simmons.

In fact, it becomes clear quickly into the movie that it has very little to do with Fanny Brice and everything to do with Barbra Streisand.

This is most evident with the lavish “Great Day” number, set on a glittery deco set, with Babs intoning the song as if it were a track from one of her pop albums of the ’70s.

It’s period imperfect!

The production number starts with slow, loving, high-pitched tones, all very Barbra, in a pseudo pop-star-goes-semi-gospel kind of way.

And then the tempo changes and everyone starts wildly clapping as our star desperately tries to get down and percolate in a rather embarrassing manner.

If she were my mommy, I would have been certain to tell people, “No, she isn’t!”

Still, the whole thing is mesmerizing, especially because Babs is unafraid to put her personal stamp on the proceedings, and the fabulous dancers manage to keep their dignity throughout.

This clip must be seen to be disbelieved.

Watching it might even be some sort of guilt trip–as in guilty pleasure.