It's Always Fair Weather
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Movie Reviews of It's Always Fair Weather
Movie Review: uneven but worth seeing
Summary: 4 Stars
Allegedly, this was supposed to be a sort of sequel to "On The Town" but Frank Sinatra didn't want to do it. Plus Jules Mushin isn't in it, either, and it's 3 Army guys, not sailors.
The story is a downer. Three Army buddies promise to meet in10 years, October 11, 1955 to show Tim (the bartender) that they would always be buddies. Gene Kelly, who intends to go to law school and become a politician, gets dumped by (presumably) his girlfriend and decides to make his living as a gambler. Michael Kidd intends to open a fancy restaurant but ends up running a diner. Dan Dailey plans to go to Paris and become a painter, but ends up in the advertising business. Everyone's dreams have been shattered.
When they meet at Tim's, they find no connection. Apparently they never kept track of each other during the 10 years (with questions about marriage and kids, that seems pretty obvious) and they can't stand each other. Of course, fate intervenes but it still takes a long time for this movie to go from a total downer to at least enjoyable.
But let's face it, what does it matter what the plot is if you have Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. It's about the dancing. Gene Kelly does a great number in roller skates. For somebody like me who can't even stand on roller skates, it's a delight to watch. Cyd Charisse does one number, with a group at the gym, but there is no pairing of Charisse and Kelly dancing. That's a shame because I would have like to have seen it.
I would like to give a shout out to Delores Gray for her fabulous "Midnight with Madeline" character. Her dance number "Thanks, But No Thanks" seems derivative of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" but it still great.
I'd recommend it to anyone who has already seen a few Gene Kelly movies and can appreciate the dance numbers. If you are unfamiliar with Mr Kelly's or M's Charisse's work, I suggest these movies to start with:
Singin' in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Brigadoon
Mr Kelly's work:
On the Town
An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Les Girls
M's Charisse's work:
Black Tights (1960)
The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Till The Clouds Roll By
Movie Review: Better Than Its Reputation
Summary: 4 Stars
At last, It's Always Fair Weather is available in proper widescreen in a beautifully remastered DVD. It was worth waiting for. I've always had a lot of affection for this under-rated MGM musical. While recognizing its faults, there is quite a lot to recommend this end-of-an-era production from the great Arthur Freed MGM musical unit.
By all accounts, making the film was not a happy experience for most of the participants and some of this tension shows. But, given the fairly cynical premise of the storyline, this does not always work against the finished product. It is certainly different from the frothy concoctions of An American In Paris and Singin' In The Rain, but being different is never necessarily a bad thing. And the film seems to capture the changing mood of the times when musicals were quickly falling out of favor and television was just beginning to be a major presence in everyone's lives.
This is a Gene Kelly film and everyone else is strictly support. Being a huge Gene Kelly fan, this is not a problem for me. But even in supporting roles, the rest of the cast is pretty impressive. Cyd Charisse was seldom more gorgeous or slinky but she gets a good run for her money by the incredible Delores Gray who is both comic and sexy. Kelly has two dancing partners who have no trouble keeping up with him - tall, lanky and immensely likeable Dan Daily and short, intense and extremely talented Michael Kidd. The numbers where the three of them dance together - particularly the famous dustbin lid routine - are among the best performances by male dancers in an MGM musical. Cyd Charisse gets a fabulous solo in a boxers' gym. But, like everyone else, I really regret the lack of a Kelly/Charisse dance duet. There was really no need for that omission. But unexpected joy is to be had from Delores Gray's numbers. And, of course, the best of all is Gene Kelly's solo on rollerskates - right up there with his "Singin' In The Rain" number. (Some observers have commented that the lyrics to his song "I Like Myself" are too true to be good.)
The songs themselves are ok if not especially memorable. The Comden and Green lyrics have their usual wit and just a bit of an edge. Andre Previn's music is bright and slightly jazzy, if not the usual sort of movie musical melodies. The direction by Kelly and Stanley Donen makes clever use of the widescreen of several occasions. On this new DVD, the film looks and sounds great. I suppose all that's really missing is that elusive extra special "oomph" factor. But it's still a very good film - much better than some detractors would have you believe.
There are also a few nice extras on the DVD. It's Always Fair Weather is not one of the best of the MGM musicals, but it's also a long way from being the worst.
Movie Review: "It's my invention - exploding in my face!"
Summary: 4 Stars
It's Always Fair Weather was one of MGM's last musicals and re-teamed Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly (they had already appeared in Brigadoon together and part of Singin' In the Rain). This is not your typical MGM musical.
The point of the story is three WWII friends, upon returning from the war, promise to meet again in ten years at the same place. Ten years pass and they all show up, but realize they have all changed and have nothing in common. On of the men (Dan Dailey) works for a TV show and Gene Kelly ends up falling in love with his beautiful co-worker Jackie (Cyd Charisse). The three friends, after helping each other out (and fighting) throughout the day, restore their friendship and go their own ways.
The highlight of the film (for me at least) is probably Cyd Charisse's "Baby, You Knock Me Out" dance with a bunch of boxers. You also won't want to miss Gene Kelly's "I Like Myself" tap dance on rollerskates.
This DVD does have some great special features and some deleted numbers. There is one deleted song and dance that Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse do together.
Movie Review: The most under rated musical of all time
Summary: 4 Stars
I must admit to having seen most of the great musicals with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly the Americans are the tops when it comes to musicals. This musical has my most enjoyable tap dance routine of all with Gene kelly tap dancing on roller skates, now I now Fred & Ginger did a similar routine in 1937 however they did not have the sheer movement and skope that kelly had.
If however you require a plot I am afraid this musical is a little short, however it does amble along and there is a few light hearted moments especailly watch out for the cinemascope on the new DVD where you can finally enjoy the complete scenes featuring Ted (Gene Kelly), Doug (Dan Dailey), and Angie (Michael Kidd) performing their dance routines.
Movie Review: Nice Finish, Good Dance Numbers Help Film
Summary: 3 Stars
I just had my first look at this on DVD with it boasting a restored print and in widescreen CinemaScope. I had only seen this one other time, years ago on a formatted-to-TV VHS print. The visuals are much better, of course, in widescreen and even the story seemed better.
To be honest, though, I only recommend it for fans of of the classic film era, or for classic-era musicals. If you are used to modern-day films, this will look and sound way too corny for you.
Some other good and bad things- Cyd Charisse is a "wow" in any era. I just wish I could have seen her, and watch her dance, in any other decade. The 1950s, with the short hair and long dresses, have to be the most un-sexy era for women's clothes since pre-1920. I would love to see what Cyd looked like with long hair and a short skirt and demonstrating her tremendous dancing talents.
I enjoyed the lyrics to the songs, even though they were so dated I winced a few times. Sometimes they were so bad, that's what made them fun to hear. Feminists would hate those, and a lot of this movie, although Charisse's character, "Jackie Leighton," is an independent woman and before her time, in that regard. Gene Kelly as "Ted Riley" is such an old-fashioned male chauvinist that in today's world women would cringe at some of this lines and actions in this movie.
The dancing is very good, highlighted by Kelly's roller skating/tap dancing over the streets and sidewalks. That routine ranks right with his more-famous "Singin' In the Rain" number.
Finally, the story the last 20 minutes or so redeems much of the earlier (see below) darker stuff, and you makes you feel good when the film ends. It's a nice message.
Earlier, the story was a downer in too many spots for a musical....until the upbeat finish. Three guys have an old Army buddies' reunion and quickly - too quickly - find out they now despise each other. None of the three are shown with many positive character traits although at least they all know their weaknesses. The dialog, in many spots, might have been the worst part of the film: totally sappy and embarrassingly dated in many areas. I was disappointed Charisse's dancing scene was just that - singular, one less-than-two-minute dance number. That was all they could include in the film? Meanwhile, Daily's loudmouth drunk scene and musical number was five minutes. I was sorry to see the guys dancing with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths, but that's the '50s. That habit, along with drinking, were often glamorized.
Overall, the last segment is so positive, so feel-good that it redeemed the film, at least to me. And - the dance numbers were definitely worth watching. If you like musicals and you haven't seen this, check it out!