Rule A of my movie watching: If a film presents its premises in the first ten minutes and you draw objections, you probably aren't giving the film a fair shake. In Gigi, you might miss how Maurice Chevalier notes that this is 1900—pre-war, pre-Depression—in a time of romance and love where a song about enjoying the passage of little girls into blossoming women can take on a bit of innocence. The misogyny and patronizing is somewhat out there and not exactly the most progressive thing for today's audiences, but to focus on those elements is to miss a cornucopia of surprisingly complex formal tactics; this is easily among my favorite Minnelli's.

Unlike a number of Freed musicals (even my favorite…

Not sure why the title is called Gigi when Gaston takes up a good chunk of the runtime and it’s basically shown through his perspective but whatever. Phew, this film has some very outdated themes that would piss off many types of the modern age audiences. I for one was sorta disgusted by the “little girls” song sung by a creepy old man who is basically a panty chaser of young women. I also was disappointed that Gigi is basically treated unfairly and the film doesn’t really give her a voice to speak, only in turn is when she is allowed to speak. 

Nonetheless, I dismissed the outdated themes and fairly enjoyed myself. I enjoyed seeing the silliness of Gigi…

“She’s pretty but.. common”

That quote from this movie pretty much sums up how I feel about it. There is actually quite a bit to appreciate about Gigi. The production scale and direction are extremely well done. The use of color is gorgeous and was a treat for your eyes. I actually felt like I was in Paris with them because of how realistic and beautiful the look of the movie was. The cinematography worked very well for this movie and captured the tone perfectly. Vincent Minnelli did a genuinely great job directing this movie and he probably deserved the Oscar for it. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie isn’t good. None of the actors seemed to care. I didn’t…

Vincente Minnelli exceeded in the construction of elaborate musicals swimming with bold colours and elegant costumes, and Gigi delivers the anticipated from the filmmaker. Based on the Colette novella which has been adapted for the screen by Alan Jay Lerner, it features Leslie Caron channelling her best imitation of Judy Garland in the title role. There are some terrific performances from the supporting cast, with Isabel Jeans as Aunt Alicia supplying much of the generally delightful wit in this musical romance with her early proclamation of ”bad table manners, my dear Gigi, have broken up more households than infidelity” laying out almost everything you need to know about her character.

In its Parisian backdrop, it excavates the hypocrisy of the…

I L<3ve Musicals!

One of my favourite musicals, and MGM's last great hurrah of their Golden Age, this Lerner and Loewe score might suffer in places by not having traditional singers, but makes up for it by the charm and exactness of the casting.

Leslie Caron is a girlish delight as the would-be courtesan, being coached by her grandmother (Hermoine Gingold) and aunt Alicia (a spirited Isabel Jeans) to become the passive sport of kings. Louis Jourdan is the attractive leading man, Gaston, full of ennui and a lack of interest in the glorious females at 'Maxim's' - his rendition of the title song is a high point of many in the film.

The film belongs to that glorious Gallic…

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Best Picture Winners List- Click HERE
Best Picture Project (31/92)

Gigi is a pretty bad movie. This is another one of the Best Picture Winners I was least excited about watching and this was mostly what I expected it to be. The plot isn’t that good it’s a happy romance movie but it’s incredibly predictable. This film is very dated in many ways and could never be made again. The acting is okay Leslie Caron gives an okay performance. Almost every character isn’t like able and not that interesting. The chemistry/relationships between the characters feels very awkward. Alan Jay Lerner’s script isn’t that good and didn’t deserve to win Best Adapted Screenplay. The cinematography and score is okay but nothing…

I went to a Vincente Minnelli double-feature at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA...and it was a sheer delight, to say the least. For more, read the full review here!

Gigi is a shrewd little movie. It convinces you it’s merely pretty fluff. Then it sucks you in, it makes you care, it really swings with emotion and wit.

The most admirable thing about Gigi is its simplicity. Even though one is wont to criticize its lavishness, it’s actually much more low-key than first meets the eye. Gigi is a smashing paradox: it’s a peek into a more perfect world than ours, but the world isn’t displayed in the feverish, over-the-top tradition of fantastical dream-worlds like American in Paris…

I'd Like to Thank the Academy, or: my Academy Awards Best Picture project - part 31 (of 92 or 93)

Right off the bat, my 21st-Century sensibilities had me cringing at the unwitting creepiness at Maurice Chevalier's opening musical number about little girls. It wasn't until he mentions in passing that it's the year 1900. Meaning no world wars, no depression, no lowered standards, no disillusionment. Not to mention that Leslie Caron was 27 in 1958, so everything was above board. Chevalier's unwitting creepiness suddenly became an old man's innocent fascination with children growing up to become adults and nothing more.

Once I was past all that, I could really just settle into the film, with its bright colors, simple…

Whew. Gigi didn't age well. I already raised a skeptical eyebrow during the first song. Throughout the movie, I kept grimacing and shaking my head because there were so many things that didn't sit well with me. For instance, how the movie handled the suicide discussion and the huge age difference of the romantic leads. I get that this was made at a different time, but I can't help but be uncomfortable.

Even so, I tried to watch this as if I was an audience in the late 50s. I guess I enjoyed myself a bit. There were so many things to love, especially the music. I'll be humming "The Night They Invented Champagne" the entire day tomorrow (I like…

A great movie musical directed by the legendary Vincente Minnelli with original songs by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe fresh off their huge success on Broadway with "My Fair Lady."

"Gigi" is an example of what the Hollywood movie making "machine" was still capable of in 1958. Movies in general were in steep decline during the 1950s with budgets and entire films scrapped to cut costs. But a movie like "Gigi" could still get made and MGM put all their resources behind it. "Gigi" demonstrates how great a film could be when the people involved really do give a damn about delivering the goods for an audience. Everything about it is first rate. The songs, the set and costume…

This is probably one of the most gorgeous movies I've ever seen ! Even the poster is so pretty. The costumes are so lovely, and I especially love how they differentiate Gigi from the rest of high society with her simplistic gown in comparison to the overdone looks other women wear. The staging and production design is consistently beautiful, and the technicolor is a dream !

All that being said, the story is a bit boring and the performances are mediocre at best. I'd give anything to see Audrey Hepburn in this role, which she originated on Broadway to rave reviews, as Leslie Caron is charming but not magical. Louis Jourdan is handsome, but he can't sing for shite and…

Not sure why the title is called Gigi when Gaston takes up a good chunk of the runtime and it’s basically shown through his perspective but whatever. Phew, this film has some very outdated themes that would piss off many types of the modern age audiences. I for one was sorta disgusted by the “little girls” song sung by a creepy old man who is basically a panty chaser of young women. I also was disappointed that Gigi is basically treated unfairly and the film doesn’t really give her a voice to speak, only in turn is when she is allowed to speak. 

Nonetheless, I dismissed the outdated themes and fairly enjoyed myself. I enjoyed seeing the silliness of Gigi…