A Blase Romance Gets Best Picture With Gigi?!

The Good: Charming
The Bad: Predictable, Light on character development, Light on DVD bonus features.
The Basics: A disappointing romantic musical, Gigi is entirely predictable and the characters actually work contrary to any sensibility.


It is a rare thing that a movie gets me into a rant that is larger than the movie itself, especially as I have been inundated recently with films that won the Best Picture Oscar. And yet, Gigi inspires me with both and that is where we begin today. My first rant is something that has been building for some time as I have been in the market for DVD and Blu-Ray discs. These mediums are so geared toward first weekend sales that the packaging is utterly useless. They seldom say what a movie is actually about or even why one ought to buy it. It's all "Look, you saw this (or missed it) in the theaters, buy it now!" I mention this at the outset of Gigi because this morning, I gave my wife a choice of which Best Picture I was going to put in the player while she rested and she read the backs of the DVDs and decided against An American In Paris because she was not in the mood for an upbeat musical. Guess what? Gigi is filled with musical numbers and it is set in Paris! The only clue that music is important from the DVD packaging is a mention of the quality of the songs, but it is written in a vague way that - by similar token - would imply Star Wars (reviewed here!) was a musical because the back of that video mentions John Williams' score. So, the first thing one ought to know about Gigi is that while it is mostly a romance, it is a rather musical romance with characters breaking into song at convenient moments.

The second rant is one I seldom indulge in since I began my Best Picture Project. Gigi . . . Best Picture? Really? You're kidding me. Reading over the list for the year (1958), it seems like a year when there were truly no good choices. That said, Gigi?! Gigi?! Gigi is a predictable, somewhat creepy at points (I'm sorry, the song about the value of little girls is just unsettling, even if it is from a very different time) romance that is so obvious it is painful. In recent memory, it reminds me most of The Princess Diaries (reviewed here!) and it has the same resonance as Disney's Beauty And The Beast. And while Gigi has bright color contrasts and a general sense of fun, it is hard to imagine a year where this was truly the best American cinema had to offer; it makes one argue that there ought to be years the award is not given out.

After a musical number where Honore Lachaille observes Paris in the and all of the activity that draws his eye, we are introduced to Gigi, a precocious young woman who is being raised by her grandmother. Gigi is excited by the whole world and all that she has not yet seen or experienced and she is tutored by her aunt Alicia, who has romanced many famous men and now lives as a recluse. Gigi is similarly thrilled by visits from the fabulously wealthy Gaston. Gaston gets along well with Gigi's grandmother and is in the tabloids for his relationships, one of which he almost immediately breaks off. Schooled by Honore, Gaston begins throwing lavish parties which keep his name in the papers, yet completely bore him. Gaston, disillusioned about how nothing ever changes soon comes to despise Paris and its conventions.

But when Gigi swindles Gaston at a card game, she wins a trip to the ocean with him and soon both of their perspectives are shaken up. Gigi begins to conform and develop into a sophisticate and Gaston begins to treasure how different Gigi is.

The setup of Gigi makes it obvious the moment the film begins. Gigi is eager, Gaston is disillusioned, they are more or less single, it is That Type Of Movie. Unfortunately, the film offers little in addition to that and, in fact, it works contrary to itself. Outside the style and flash of Gigi, there is little to recommend it because it is so eager to conform to the expectations of the viewer that it confounds the viewer that actually considers it objectively.

Take, for example, Gigi herself. Gigi has her charm in the fact she is unique and girlish. She does not know the finer things in life, so she enjoys the simpler things like going to the ocean for the first time. Gaston is surrounded by women who know how to choose his cigars for him, who love his wealth and enjoy being in the papers with him. So, the romance between Gigi and Gaston makes sense when Gigi is herself, undeveloped and Gaston begins to realize he has an inkling for her. Unfortunately, this is right around the same time that Gigi's grandmother and aunt realize they may marry Gigi off to the fabulously wealthy Gaston and they set to making her a proper, society woman. Gigi loses her sense of independence and originality in order to conform to their expectations.

Unfortunately, this makes Gigi over into the society princess that Gaston has been sick of the entire movie. The best thing that can happen in Gigi at that point is that Gaston rejects Gigi for being exactly like every other chick he has no interest in, and yet he remains head over heels for her. There is no sensibility to this and the resolution to the film then comes contrary to whatever sense of unique character the movie once possessed.

Conversely, the more interesting relationship is the briefly explored relationship between Honore and Madame Alvarez (Gigi's grandmother). The song they sing about their bygone relationship features a back and forth where he recalls things incorrectly and she reminds him of how things truly were. For a change, in a song they beautifully illustrate how we look through our lost loves with rose-colored glasses and the details end up with less importance than the emotional resonance of the time and place we were in life at the time.

What does not work nearly as well for Gigi is the casting. Gaston, played by Louis Jourdan provides a decent baseline. He appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He is appropriately younger than Hermione Gingold, who plays Madame Alvarez. But here things become confused. Isabel Jeans hardly looks young enough to be Gingold's daughter as Aunt Alicia and what is even more problematic is Leslie Caron as Gigi herself. Caron was in her twenties when the film was filmed, which is why she is allowed to drink the champagne in relevant scenes, but her character is characterized as much younger. She, alas, does not hide it well at all. She seems like a woman in her mid-twenties playing a teenager, but she doesn't have the look for it, no matter how director Arthur Freed dresses her up.

Beyond that, Jourdan and Caron have decent on-screen chemistry, as do Gingold and Maurice Chevalier. In fact, Jourdan and Caron's on-screen chemistry is enough to gut any real surprise for the viewer as to what direction the movie is headed in. This makes it hard to say this is great acting by any means. Sure, Caron has a winning smile, but there's no surprise that her youthful character is headed into a romantic relationship with Jourdan's older one.

On DVD, the one-disc version of Gigi is pretty blase, with the only bonus features being the theatrical trailer and fullscreen vs. widescreen presentations on opposite sides of the disc. There is a two-disc version, but that was not the one I had the chance to screen. One imagines it has featurettes and the like to enchant those who enjoyed the source material. As one who did not, I doubt they would be enough to change my perspective on this movie.

For those who like retro romances or musicals, there might be enough here, but as someone who watches a lot of movies and is always looking for something different or that feels new, Gigi only offered me disappointment. It's surprising this is considered such a great movie; clearly it is from a time when the standards were drastically different.

[As a winner of the Best Picture Oscar, this film is part of W.L.'s Best Picture Project, online here! Please check it out!]

For other musicals, please check out my reviews of:
Corpse Bride
Happy Feet
Tangled

5/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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An American In Paris: Uncomfortably Obvious, Only Moments Outside The Average.

The Good: Decent music, Moments of performance
The Bad: Obvious plot and character development, Melodramatic acting, Print issues, Light on DVD bonus features.
The Basics: Mediocre in every way, save the filming and creativity, An American In Paris is too tough a sell to recommend.


For those who might not follow my reviews, musicals seldom do anything for me. Before I began going through every film that won the Best Picture Oscar, I am fairly certain I had no idea how many musicals had won that coveted award. So, lately, I have been watching a number of movies I am in no way predisposed toward. In fact, my wife despises old musicals such that I had to wait for her to leave for work to take in An American In Paris.

An American In Paris is a fairly typical musical film from the 1950s, filmed in Technicolor, filled with songs and dances and the title says it all. Actually, the film is about more than one American living in Paris after World War II. And while the movie has its moments, it is painfully obvious, even for a musical and there are only a few moments in the movie where the viewer is surprised or engaged. Similarly, there are only a few moments when the director uses the film medium well - in a way that makes the movie more than just a stage play on screen. Unfortunately, one of those moments comes up early in the movie and the viewer is left fairly underwhelmed for the remainder of the film.

Jerry Mulligan is a former soldier who opted to stay in Paris after the war in order to try to become the best possible painter he can. There, he associates with an ornery pianist, Adam, and his singing buddy Henri, and he keeps thralls of French children amused by giving them American bubblegum. One day, the wealthy Milo enters Jerry's life and buys some of his paintings. And while Milo is eager to advance his career and keep him from his prior poverty, Jerry is struck with love at first sight when he lays eyes on Lise.

Lise, though, takes some time to warm up to Jerry, though she does begin to care for him. Lise is Henri's girlfriend and while Milo sponsors Jerry's career, Jerry and Lise fall in love. But when the time comes for Jerry to make his move, Henri is offered a grand opportunity in the U.S., which prompts him to propose to Lise. Lise, being a pragmatist, accepts and Jerry is compelled to move on. Will their hearts win out or will pragmatism?

Who cares? The problem with An American In Paris is that when it is not preoccupied with the flash of style, it is utterly predictable. None of the characters, save the melancholy concert pianist Adam, are particularly empathetic and the societal notes about changing gender roles are hardly shocking today. Instead, An American In Paris is more a worthwhile historical document, a sign of the times from when it was made as opposed to an enduing love story. There are movies that manage to be both, like Casablanca (reviewed here!).

This is not to say that An American In Paris is all bad. Despite many of the lines being melodramatic, the lines are good. No, the writing is not exceptional and the characters are not in any way interesting enough to captivate viewers, but the lines and phrases are well-written and interesting. This, unfortunately, becomes like the cinematic equivalent of a fortune cookie with lines being clever, but not stringing together to build something substantial.

Director Vincente Minnelli uses the medium fairly well, though. Instead of simply translating something that seems like it could be an adequate stage play onto the screen, Minnelli uses the advantages of cinema over stage well. So, for example, to create the characterization of Lise, Henri sits and "tells" Adam about her. Henri speaks a line and Minnelli cuts away to Leslie Caron as Lise in a distinct costume doing a dance to portray a certain personality trait. Henri then lists another characteristic and Caron's outfit and style of dance both change.

Minnelli similarly uses the medium well to explore Adam's dream, when he creates a trippy sequence where Adam imagines presenting a concert as every member of an orchestra. Outside using masks, it is hard to imagine how this could be portrayed as well on stage and Minnelli actually makes the sequence quite delightful. As well, the event that made my partner declare in no uncertain terms that she was not watching this film with me, a seventeen minute ballet at the film's climax, was surprisingly engaging and it is an ambitious film moment for the complexity of the sets, costumes and dance routines. But for those who are not predisposed toward ballet, theater or musicals, this final sequence is not going to make one part of the converted. Instead, it plays to the expected conceits of tap, dance and theatrical performance. Minnelli does a decent job translating it to the screen, but it still is what it is and nothing more.

Unfortunately, the conventions of the musical take precedence over any true sense of storytelling sensibility. As a result, Jerry ends up singing and dancing to entertain a gang of children after he sells his first few paintings. Then, he sings the classic song "I've Got Rhythm." But the song makes no sense as Jerry has just revealed that he does not, in fact, have a squeeze. So, when he sings that he's got his gal, it leaves the attentive viewer feeling cheated. Instead, almost ten minutes of the movie are wasted from storytelling with a pointless and extended song and dance that does nothing but show off Gene Kelly's dancing ability.

On DVD, the print is sadly erratic. For example, in the musical number after Jerry meets Lise at the perfume store, the song progresses and all of a sudden the dancing Jerry and the piano-playing Adam are suddenly washed out. The color goes from being a very crisp, obviously restored print to a much grainier image that is not as color rich or vivid. The movie goes back to the restored for DVD version and continues, but the minute or two lapse is noticeable and troubling. As well, during Jerry's painting montage, the backgrounds are not cleaned up and when Adam has his fantasy orchestra performance, that too is not cleaned up in a way that the medium glorifies. In other words, matte lines and fading between film layers is evident.

As well, on DVD, An American In Paris is remarkably devoid of worthwhile DVD bonus features. The basic one-disc version (which is what I had access to) only had the movie's theatrical trailer. And interactive menus . . . ooh.

But for a film that is supposedly considered great, An American In Paris has a lot to live up to and given how obvious the character developments and plot are, this is a disappointing movie. Minnelli gets a lot of credit for style and Caron and Gene Kelly do great in the dance numbers and the music is even memorable. But the characters are more archetypes than actual characters and it is easy to forget this rather insubstantial film after one is done watching it.

Worth a single viewing, An American In Paris is trippy and stylish, but low on substance, making it hard to recommend for those creating a permanent library of DVDs.

[As a winner of the Best Picture Oscar, this film is part of W.L.'s Best Picture Project, available here! Please check it out!]

For other musicals, please check out my reviews of:
The Little Mermaid
Repo! The Genetic Opera
The Muppet Christmas Carol

5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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