You know how it's really uncool to wear a T-shirt featuring the band giving a concert whilst at that very concert? Well, all you really need to know about the twenty-eight thousand strong crowd who attended the June 17 Glee Live! show at the Izod Center, New Jersey (which was taped in 3D for the general public's viewing pleasure) is that a goodly percentage of them were arrayed in show-appropriate wear, ranging from "Gleek" T-shirts to McKinley High letterman's jackets to Cheerios uniforms, Dalton Academy ties and even a few Sue Sylvester tracksuits.

Glee fans: not cool, and proud of it.

Out front of the venue, the buzz is palpable as a vox pop is taken on fans’ favorite characters (Rachel, Kurt, Brittany and Blaine are the clear winners). Backstage, the cast are in character, with Rachel (Lea Michele) sipping lukewarm tea to soothe her vocal chords while Artie (Kevin McHale) freaks out that his pimpled face is going to be huge in 3D and Brittany (Heather Morris) contemplates the wonder of her own golden tresses. Puck (Mark Salling) discusses how his mohawk gives the ladies "something to hold on to" and Kurt (Chris Colfer) is simply overwhelmed by the attention. It’s all very cute.

As is this movie. Cute and fun and silly and largely very enjoyable, and profoundly Glee-ish -- but it is also very, very odd. You see, it’s not merely a Glee 3D concert movie, despite its title. It’s not only about the numerous songs covered by the kids of the McKinley High Show Choir. Oh, no. This, friends, is a documentary -- very serious and important -- about how Glee has Changed. The. World.

We meet Josey, a woman living with Aspergers on whom Glee -- and, in particular, one Brittany S. Pierce -- has been an empowering influence. We also meet Trenton, an articulate and well-dressed nineteen year old who was involuntarily outed in 8th Grade and wishes he'd had Kurt Hummel to look to then for inspiration. And finally there is Janae, a pretty and popular high school cheerleader who also happens to be a little person, and is up for Prom Princess. (Will she win? Oh, the suspense!)

Speaking of diminutive types, there is this four year-old in a Dalton Academy outfit dancing and singing in front of shots of the Warblers that is just so cute, and yet so creepy at the same time.

But back to the concert. How was it, I hear you ask…?

Well, Heather Morris absolutely lights up the stage with her rendition of Britney Spears's "Slave 4 U" from “Brittany/Britney” (02.03), complete with revealing bikini and hypnotic gyrations. Amber Riley (Mercedes) delivers her signature, Princess of Soul power wailing, and Lea Michele (Rachel) emotes melodically throughout any number of songs. (She really does sing a lot of them, doesn't she?). Cory Monteith (Finn) has his moments, specifically in “Jessie’s Girl”; Kevin McHale shows off his pipes in "Pretty Young Thing", and then huffs a little throughout "Safety Dance" from the episode "Dream On" (01.19) -- which is perhaps not surprising, since he rarely has to sing and dance at the same time; and we are also treated to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" from Chris Colfer. Dianna Agron (Quinn) and Chord Overstreet (Sam) get their moment in the sun with "Lucky"; Naya Rivera gets to reprise her awesome version of "Valerie", and interestingly, "Fat Bottomed Girls" is the choice for Mark Salling's (Puck) solo spotlight – poor, neglected Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) doesn’t really get one of those at all.

And then there are the Warblers.

They deliver "Teenage Dream", "Silly Love Songs" and "Raise Your Glass" in fine form, and while Darren Criss (Blaine) may sound a little off without his autotune, his backing boys are excellent, as ever. Some of my favorite Warblers didn’t make the tour cut (what, no Stout, Kindly Kid?), but Albino Boy and Gymnastic Black Dude are in the mix and the crowd quite honestly could not love them more.

(Meanwhile, fan favorite Criss is seamlessly worked into almost every ensemble New Directions number, perhaps giving some credence to ***SPOILER ALERT*** rumors that he will be joining BF Kurt at McKinley in the Fall.)

There is a curious lack of Mr. Shue (Matthew Morrison) here, especially given how much of the show's airtime is taken up with his musical stylings. But hey! Gwyneth Paltrow shows up to represent the faculty as Holly Holliday, and gives us her iTunes best-selling version of Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You", though in its sanitized "Forget You" form for network TV -- and, one hopes, the classroom. And you have to wonder... REALLY? Gwyneth Paltrow has more time to go on tour with the Glee kids than Matthew Morrison? I mean, I know he has an album out and everything, but... REALLY? Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester apparently also had the time to join the kids on stage for the filming, but her scenes were -- VERY ODDLY -- deleted from the film. Why? WHY???


Otherwise, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" opens the show, of course; the Sectionals-winning "Loser Like Me" closes it; and the encore is Queen's "Somebody to Love". There are other favorite songs to be seen, the occasional backstage antic to be appreciated, and a very occasional glimpse of some onstage comedy given, all of it set to an infectious background of cheering, shrieking, awestruck fans. It’s all just a lot of Glee craziness -- for which the 3D was entirely unnecessary, by-the-by; meanwhile, the We’re So Awesome snippets were utterly self-aggrandizing, and yet I found them simultaneously kind of heartwarming, almost despite myself. For any avid Glee viewer, I would say this movie is essential viewing, even if you wait for DVD (and its inevitable array of Special Features).

And in the meantime, just in case you can’t bear the suspense… Janae was crowned Prom Princess! Oh, Glee. Just look at these wonders you have wrought!

   -- Rachel Hyland