Review of An American in Paris (1951) by Imani B — 15 Feb 2008
Not Gene Kelly or Leslie Caron's greatest, by a long shot. The first couple of songs Georges Guetary sang didn't fit his vocal style and sounded ridiculous. Gene Kelly really proves in this movie that if he can't sing, he'll dance; for that reason, among others, this film definitely doesn't top Singin' in the Rain, but oh well.
Furthermore, the abstract dances at the end came out of NOWHERE- they were too surreal. If the entire film revolved around surrealism, it would have fit. Additionally, the surreal dances at the end were way too long and the film's resolution was too easy; there were a lot of holes. It just didn't work for me.
On the contrary, Oscar Levant's dream was amazing and not too out-there in terms of surrealism; he was funny, not weird and I enjoyed his many talents in that scene. Finally, I must put it out there: the two greatest song AND dance numbers in this film were "'S'wonderful" and "Our Love is Here to Stay.".
This review of An American in Paris (1951) was written by Imani B on 15 Feb 2008.
An American in Paris has generally received positive reviews.
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