An American in Paris (1951):
What’s It About?: Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) is an ex-GI and artists in Paris, where he lolls with locals kids and his piano playing best friend. Then, just as his art career looks like it will be going places, he falls for the beautiful, but unbeknownst to him, engaged Lisa Bouvier (Leslie Caron).
How Good Is It?: Well, the plot is razor thin, but director Vincente Minnelli hangs a lot of beautiful imagery and pizzazz off of it. Gene Kelly is solid and charismatic in the lead role, there are a few funny jokes and one-liners, and the musical numbers are sometimes invigorating. The finale itself, which is a 17-minute ballet through intentionally painted-on sets (using the styles of several classic painters), is really interesting to behold, if not entirely appealing. And the dance numbers are occasionally extraordinary, if you like that kind of thing.
Was it Best Picture?: No, I can’t give them this one. It’s not that American isn’t good; In fact, it’s rather good. But it’s not nearly as good as A Streetcar Named Desire. As far as musicals go, it’s may be excellent, but it’s just not a strong enough contender given the competition. For the record, this is the second color film to win the Oscar, the last one being Gone With the Wind twelve years ago.
Was it Best Picture?: No, I can’t give them this one. It’s not that American isn’t good; In fact, it’s rather good. But it’s not nearly as good as A Streetcar Named Desire. As far as musicals go, it’s may be excellent, but it’s just not a strong enough contender given the competition. For the record, this is the second color film to win the Oscar, the last one being Gone With the Wind twelve years ago.
Posted by: metin2 yang | Jun 19, 2010 at 03:58