Review of An American in Paris (1951) by Devon B — 26 Mar 2010
As far as musicals go, "An American in Paris" is a fairly enjoyable one, even if the long ballet sequence at the end feels tacked on. Leslie Caron is quite a stunningly attractive girl. It's a conventional plot involving a beautiful girl who falls in love with a dancing painter, but has committed herself to the older singing gentleman who helped her out during the war.
Likewise, the dancing painter has been ensnared by an art-loving sponsor who seems just as interested in his body as she does in his body of work. Did I mention Leslie Caron is a knockout? Gene Kelly is his typically graceful and talented self as well and Gene Kelly fans should be very pleased with the film.
But the movie pushes it's nearly 2 hour running time to the limit and could've used some judicious editing. I enjoyed the "french" atmosphere, but I can't recall any of the songs (a problem I don't have with director vincente Minnelli's later film, "Gigi").
Personally, I found Kelly's performance as a tortured artist to be less convincing than some of his other roles. This film won the academy award for best picture.
This review of An American in Paris (1951) was written by Devon B on 26 Mar 2010.
An American in Paris has generally received positive reviews.
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