'3BlackChicks Review...'
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) Not Rated; running time 114 minutes Genre: Musical IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0043278 Written by: Alan Jay Lerner Directed by: Vincente Minnelli Music by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin Choreography by: Gene Kelly Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch DVD standard features (region 1): "Pan And Scan" (non-widescreen); theatrical trailer; scene access. Languages & Subtitles: English, French
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsamerparis.html
As my boy Len in MEMENTO might say, memory's a tricky thing. Take AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, for instance. I distinctly remember thinking, as a young girl brimming with newly-discovered hormones, that There Could Never Be Anything Finer, Period, than the image of Gene Kelly struttin' on screen in a skin-tight leotard. I distinctly remember this, because at the sight of Monsieur Kelly doing that strut, I was sure of two things: one, that one day I'd be Mrs. Gene Kelly, and he'd take me out of Detroit and into his graceful arms (I'd figure out what to do with Leslie Caron later, my passion-enflamed heart reckoned); and two, that I had just witnessed what was undoubtedly The Greatest Musical Ever. Period.
So why, some 25 or so years later, do I feel somewhat let down by the movie I just watched?
The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**): Ex-GI Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) did what any red-blooded American boy would do after World War II came to a close: he stayed in Paris, to pursue a career in painting. His "career", to the point of the opening of the film [Kelly's first scene, hinting at the graceful athleticism of a dancer's everyday movement, never ceases to pull me in], consisted of, mostly, Starving. He shared such a fate with his best bud, Adam Cook (Oscar Levant, who I've come to adore almost as much as I love Kelly), a gifted curmudgeon of a concert pianist who just might be the world's oldest child prodigy. Adam, a self-effacing chainsmoker, is also best buds with the somewhat more successful French music hall star Henri Baurel (Georges Guetary), an older man who took in young Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron) during The Resistance, and in a Woody Hall-ian move, fell in love with Lise and asked her to marry him.
One problem: once carefree bachelor Jerry laid eyes on Lise, he was hooked. Actually, two problems: Jerry's new arts patron, the worldly - and jealous - Milo (as in, "Venus de") Roberts, wants Jerry for herself.
And on tomorrow's installment of All My Bold And Beautiful Children...
The Upshot: It's difficult to pin down, but whether it was the relative poor quality of the DVD itself, or the cringeworthy moments in this movie (see "The Numbers" below for a couple examples), I honestly have to say that my childhood Greatest Ever assessment was a bit off. To be sure, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS has its moments of absolute brilliance, and I'd easily put it up against most of the dreck passing for movies these days; but there was an...emptiness of plot here that just failed to reach the sustained high notes of a SINGIN' IN THE RAIN or a WEST SIDE STORY, for instance. Maybe it was just the idealistic memory I had of that tight jumper Kelly wore out, but I certainly remembered "Paris" being a little brighter, a little more dazzling, in my youth.
On the other hand, there's still a lil' sum'n sum'n about AN AMERICAN IN PARIS that raises it above your standard Boy Meets Girl Let's Dance musical plot; something a bit hard-edged that makes "Paris" more kin to the more socially-relevant "West Side" than Kelly's fluffier "Rain". That "something", I posit, is Oscar Levant. Yes, "Paris" has plenty of hokey numbers, like many of its predecessors. Yes, "Paris" has a musical-standard Dame In Waiting in the person of the smoky and underused Nina Foch, and a Charming Ingenue (well, to an extent) in the magnificent Leslie Caron. Yes, "Paris" has great Gershwin standards, and in Minnelli, a director who knew how to make a musical just the way movie audiences used to want them to be made. And oh yes, "Paris" has Kelly showing off all his charms in that skin-tight leotard...ahem. But what "Paris" also has that few of the more lighthearted musicals haven't got, was Oscar the grouch, all-too-briefly snarking his way through AN AMERICAN IN PARIS like he owned the joint.
And the cool thing about my owning AN AMERICAN IN PARIS on DVD, is that through the magic of being able to watch selected scenes, I can pretend that Levant did indeed at least hold a lease on the joint.
The Numbers: Ok, so the plot's got Issues; but what of the trademarks of any musical worthy of the name?
"Oom-pa-pa By Straus" Cringe moment #1; Georges Guetary started off rubbing me the wrong way [shouldn't it be illegal for a French guy to attempt German?] and never recovers. Next!
"I Got Rhythm" Ahhh...much better. I've always loved this number; Gene Kelly seemed to work so well with those kids, as if he were a dancing version of ER's Dr. Ross. It's funny, though, that he used American to teach French kids, English. Hooked On Ebonics, Jerry?
"Tra-La-La" Cringe moment #2. I like an almost-shirtless Kelly like the next hot-blooded Chick; but lord, that man really couldn't sing, as he proved with that misbegotten high note at the end. Minnelli must've directed him to pretend that someone yanked his testicles at that moment.
"Our Love Is Here To Stay" The most sensuous, romantic song and dance pairing I can ever recall seeing on film. Some swoon over Astaire And Rogers; but Kelly and Caron, in this beautiful scene, are what Does It for me.
"Stairway To Paradise" I love this number, if only because it always makes me to do my impression of Henri Tha Playa President. I'll try to remember to do it for Oprah, next time I see her.
"3rd Movement: Concerto In F" Adam's manifesto, and a brief glimpse into the genius of serious pianist Oscar Levant. A few years ago, I remember seeing a PBS documentary on Levant which went into detail about what a tormented soul he was. I don't think I've ever been sadder about the life of a celebrity than I was after watching that documentary. But even in my sadness, I came away with a deeper appreciation for his work in "Paris".
"S'wonderful" Giving my boy Guetary a break for a minute, I liked this threesome piece with him, Kelly, and Levant. By this point, it seemed as if Kelly was repeating some taps, but Levant's humorous expressions help make this number a winner.
"An American In Paris" If I ever lost my memory ala "Memento's" Leonard, I'd make sure to have "you absolutely love the 'An American In Paris' ballet number" tattooed across my body. It'd most def be worth it. This 17-minute ballet (which includes Kelly in the skin-tight leotard I keep drooling over) is what ultimately caused me to go ga-ga over all things Gene Kelly. Hey, sue me for having a rich fantasy life.
Some of the background "noise" may have been a wee bit disheartening to see, but the heart of a Gene Kelly musical - the singing and dancing - still stand the test of time in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.
DVD Thingies: The lack of gee whiz techie stuff, only added to my slight malaise about the film in general. Sure, oldies captured digitally are treasured more for their innards than for what some technical genius can add to layers of DVD; and sure, the film still stands on its own merits. But it's discomforting to see a wee pretend-Gene Kelly flinching around the screen like he was on crack, in the bottom corner of the menu. The background music's worse, and the butt-ugly menu titles (which were supposed to imply a painter's pallet), were worse than that. It was nothing short of depressing, I swear.
Bammer's Bottom Line: Though my memory of some details about AN AMERICAN IN PARIS may have been romanticized a bit more than the reality of watching it as an adult proved out, even at thirtysomething, I still fantasize about the cutie in the skin-tight leotard. oh, swoon. Oh yeah; Caron's not so bad, either. And as much as I dug Donald O'Connor in that other Greatest Ever Kelly Musical, Oscar the grouch has him beat by a country mile.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS: (rating: greenlight): S'wonderful!
Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Entertainment Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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