What a Way to Go!

What a Way to Go! (1964)

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Story by Gwen Davis

Screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Robert Cummings, and Dick Van Dyke

My go to film review channel recently reviewed this movie recently. I heard that there were fabulous gowns and good looking men. It has that, but the basic story is severely lacking.

Louise (MacLaine) is a woman that thinks she is a witch, cursed with having her husbands die. She recounts this to her therapist Dr.  Stephanson (Cummings). That's it. That is the whole plot.

The biggest problem with the movie is that the story is the same thing. She meets a guy, marries him, the guy becomes a workaholic and dies. Rinse and repeat. You are over it before the movie is halfway done. There is also an issue with the pacing. The pacing is so slow that you have to put the film in 1.5x speed to make it tolerable.

It seems the screenwriters were trying to make a satire about American life during the 60s, skewer Hollywood tropes and a woman role in a marriage. It failed to do that. Maybe it tried to be a spoof movie, but you never knew what tone it has.

The only reason to see this movie is the costumes designed by Edith Head. Holy shit. The costumes were everything. If the movie didn't have the fabulous gowns, headdresses and martini glass beds than the movie was be unwatchable.

Rating: 6/10

An American in Paris

An American in Paris (1951)

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner

Stars: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, and Nina Foch

This would have been the last movie in my planned Gene Kelly watch trilogy. Well, life happens. I learned the movie won six Oscars. I was expected to be blown away. It's a good movie, but I have some problems with it.

The synopsis of the movie was saying that a struggling artist, Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) and well known singer, Henri Baurel (Guétary) are in love with the same woman, Lise Bouvier (Caron). Technically, that's true. Henri is barely in the movie. I thought that he would have a bigger role.

I was thinking that it was going to be more of a love triangle. It mainly focused on romance between Jerry and Lise. The thing is I did not believe that the romance. It seems that Jerry was more in love with Lise. I understand that this was the big screen debut for Leslie Caron, but she was the weakest part of the movie. She is a fantastic dancer, but her acting was not up to par.

I don't want to trash on the movie. The dancing sequences were very good, especially the ballet on the end of the movie. It was magnificent. George Gershwin's songs were instantly recognizable. 

Rating: 8/10
 

On the Town

On the Town (1949)

Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly

Story by Jerome Robbins

Screenplay by Adolph Green and Betty Comden

Based on their musical

Stars: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen, and Florence Bates

My intent was to make a double feature with this and Anchors Aweigh. When I didn't like Anchors that much, I scrapped those plans right away. I made the right decision. This psuedo-sequel doesn't fare any better.

Three sailors; Gabey (Kelly), Chip (Sinatra) and Ozzie (Munshin) are on shore leave for only 24 hours. They try to make the best out of the time they have in NYC.

Are you trying to tell me that they were able to go to all of those places in one day? Highly doubtful. The sailors were able to fall in love with three women before they leave. Okay.

The story line is boring. I did not care about what was happening. Some of the dance breaks were cool to see, but it wasn't enough to enjoy the movie.

Rating: 5/10
 

Anchors Aweigh

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Directed by George Sidney

Animated sequences directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna

Story by Natalie Marcin

Screenplay by Isobel Lennart 

Stars: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, Dean Stockwell, Pamela Britton, and José Iturbi

I have been on a Gene Kelly kick as of late. I wanted to see the movie that got him his first and only Oscar nomination. Being the first of three pairing with himself and Frank Sinatra, I thought I would have like this more.

Joseph Brady (Kelly) and Clarence Doolittle (Sinatra) are on shore leave from the Navy when Brady saved Doolittle's life during a mission. They are awarded The Silver Star. During their time in Hollywood, they are saddled with Donald Martin (Stockwell), a precocious little kid that wants to join the Navy. They wait at Donald's house when the pair meet Susan (Grayson), Donald's aunt who dream it is to audition for the famous composer José Iturbi. 

A major pet peeve of mine in movies is a whiny brat of a kid. I cannot stand it. I'm not saying that it was Stockwell's fault, but oh boy. I wanted to turn the film off right then.

I wanted to be swept up in the fantasy of the movie, but the pacing was too slow for me. The movie is two and half hours long. It was a slog to get through this. 

There were two dancing breaks sequences here that could have been cut out and it would not have affected the story. The central plot of the movie is simple. It seemed that a whole bunch of fluff was packed in there for no reasons.

Did Kelly earn his Oscar nomination? Yes. He was good in the movie. Did the movie deserve the five Oscar nominations it did? Not really.

Rating: 6/10

Cover Girl

Cover Girl (1944)

Directed by Charles Vidor

Story by Erwin Gelsey 

Adaptation by  Marion Parsonnet & Paul Gangelin

Screenplay by Virginia Van Upp

Stars: Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Eve Arden, Lee Bowman, Phil Silvers, Leslie Brooks, Jess Barker, and Otto Kruger

I was scrolling through twitter and I saw a dedication tweet to Gene Kelly. He was a one of kind performer. Since I loved Singin' In the Rain so much, I wanted to see another movie of his. This movie also has Rita Hayworth, win/win.

Rusty Parker (Hayworth) is a dancer at the nightclub that her boyfriend, Danny McGuire (Kelly). She had big dreams of striking out on her own. She gets her chance when a contest to be the cover girl for Vanity's 50th anniversary. She ends up winning the contest and her life takes unexpected turns.

My understanding from the title was that Rusty was getting the cover and becomes an international print model. Nope, I was wrong. 

The chemistry between Kelly and Hayworth were spectacular. The character I sympathized with was Danny McGuire. He was a guy that was in love with a woman that might leave him to something bigger and better. I enjoyed the songs. There was a sequence called Gowns that I loved.

I was pulled out of the movie when the side plot of John Coudair (Kruger) remembering his times with Maribelle Hicks. There was also the other plot line with Noel Wheaton (Bowman) trying to woo Rusty. Danny has this dance sequence when he he dances with a mirrored reflection of himself that felt weird.

Rating: 8/10