Pretty dull, so here are some stray observations:
- The costumes and the production design of the stage numbers are a real (and perhaps, the only) highlight.
- I catching the back half of this on AMC when I was a kid. The melodrama was a lot more engaging when the dynamics of adult relationships were mysterious and unknown.
- I theoretically know that Singin’ in the Rain is a jukebox musical, yet it’s always so strange when songs I…
I’m currently enjoying David Chierichetti’s biography of Mitchell Leisen (essentially an oral history) and have decided to watch along through his filmography, starting with his art department work for DeMille (the talkies at least), with this one up first.
A fun movie, overall. I want to go to all those parties and live in those gorgeous Deco apartments — Leisen’s sets really shine throughout the film. The premise is so nutso I can’t help but love it. And it could’ve…
A messy but charming plot with some standout comedic set pieces — Colbert and Milland falling in love on a crowded Coney Island beach as pair after pair of sandy legs bounces over them was particularly great, and Colbert’s fumbling nightclub debut was an absolute tour de force. And convoluted as the story may be, I have to give it credit for keeping me guessing as to how the central love triangle would resolve.
Also, what kind of lunatic eats an ice cream cone on a rollercoaster? Madness!
As a movie, it’s kind of dull and endlessly discursive — SO many interludes. But as a historical archive of Los Angeles, it’s great — so much fantastic location photography, including incredible Bunker Hill footage. And it’s viciously cynical in a way that’s so keenly observed. Especially its depiction of the toxic, self-pitying film bro whose artistic pretensions vastly outstrip his talent or work ethic — that part’s evergreen!
