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Denis Hennelly wrote (some time ago)"
"And I also found the soundtrack very distracting.  Loud, dramatic swellings
of music at every turn.  Along with talking in films (which I would
list as one of the most greivous faults of the cinematic world, expel
these traitors forever from public theaters!) I have found soundtracks
of late to be more and more self-aggrandizing without reason... anyone
else notice this trend towards the grand and operatic throughout entire films?"
 
It's not necessarily *that* new a trend (remember the "Tara" theme?) but I
agree that it is annoying when the music is expected to signal the emotional
weight of a scene.  In IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, an otherwise enjoyable and
lowkey romantic comedy, the scene where Bridget Fonda agrees to share the
lottery winnings with Nick Cage is highlighted by a circling camera and
a *big* thumping score, both of which were totally unnecessary--it made
me think more of AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN than the kind of Capraesque
tone that the film seemed to be trying to evoke.
 
--Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN