Whew, I’ve been busy lately. We spent January 21 to March 1 moving. Our landlord decided to sell the house, so it was on short notice. Anyway, our internet was down for a while because, when we moved, we switched internet providers. But on to today’s real post…
MGM’s last great musical? Really?
Several weeks ago, almost a month now, really, I was watching Gigi on TCM. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I must wonder how a movie hailed as “MGM’s last great musical” could be so mediocre. Let’s start with the musical aspect, shall we? On the whole, most of the songs were unmemorable and not especially catchy. I don’t find these songs stuck in my head, nor do I want to, honestly. The only exception is “Thank Heaven For Little Girls,” but that gets stuck in my head for all the wrong reasons.
Plot wise, it was just meh. As I type this, “meh” is being underlined, although it recently became an official word. But I digress. I realize that it takes place in a less enlightened time, but does that give me any less right to be squicked out? After complaining about how much of a child the 15 year old Gigi (played by Leslie Caron, then around 26) is, Gaston (played by Louis Jordan, whose acting I found a bit wooden, and who was in his very late thirties at the time) finally decides that he is in love with her, and, eventually, she decides that she is in love with him too and they get married. I mean, at least they were friends first, but still. And it’s not necessarily the age difference that bothers me, but the fact that she was going to be his courtesan is the first place. I suppose marriage and love are a step up from high-class sex slavery, but if you’re just going to marry the man you’d be with anyway, what’s the point?
Character and actor wise, I didn’t find any of them compelling. Leslie Caron was far to old for her part, and kept giggling in a way that made me feel like strangling someone. As mentioned, Louis Jordan’s acting felt a bit stiff. As a matter of personal taste, I can’t stand Maurice Chevalier. Some people like him, but I am not one of those people. But as for how the characters were written, I felt like smacking nearly all of them at some point in the film. Once again, I realize that they were less enlightened back then, but I think I would have preferred if the movie took more of a satirical, “glad we know better now” view. I know, that wouldn’t have sold, but I’m a fan of satire and black comedy, what can I say. Anyway, I’m pretty sure the last great MGM musical was Fiddler on the Roof. That’s really only in retrospect, though, as MGM wouldn’t absorb UA for a few more years.
So, anyway, that’s my take. Feel free to disagree, or agree heartily. But don’t feel free to flame me. Flames will be deleted. And, although it is futile of me to say this, please don’t spam me either.
~SmashingMelons
