Review of An American in Paris (1951) by Edith N — 23 Aug 2007

Being a film buff, I have an enormous list of movies that I have to get around to. All the classics--the real classics, not what passes for 'em on AMC these days. (They're playing [i]Hidalgo[/i] right now, a movie I do [i]not[/i] feel at all obligated to see.) This is regardless of how I feel about their genre or even their plot. I may not care for mob movies, but I have to see the [i]Godfather[/i] trilogy and [i]Goodfellas[/i].

[i]An American in Paris[/i] is on that list, as is [i]Chinatown[/i], which has just come in from the library. It's shorter than I thought; my brain had programmed that it was three hours. It isn't; it isn't even two. Which is just as well, really; there isn't enough plot for a three-hour movie here.

It's just Gene Kelly chasing a girl. This cannot hold us three hours without way more singing and dancing, and there's plenty of that as it is. We get the long ballet at the end. We get all the little bits of Gershwin throughout. It is lovely dancing, and it is lovely Gershwin, but we get plenty, thanks.

This movie was rated one of the 20 most overrated films by [i]Premiere[/i] magazine. I've not seen the whole list (I hope [i]Last Tango in Paris[/i] is on it!), but it had better be pretty low. This is a really good movie. I'm not sure it's as good everyone seems to think, but it isn't as overrated as all that.

It's lovely. Some of the filming's a little shaky, but it's a beautiful film with beautiful music--and the joy that is Gene Kelly choreography. It's just not as interesting as many of the films we've seen.