Review of Easter Parade (1948) by Tim H — 06 Oct 2008

Now that's what My Fair Lady should have been.

For those of you who haven't read my My Fair Lady review or simply don't remember it, I had some real concerns about Rex Harrison and the way that the story plays out. I always felt that the relationship between Eliza and Higgins was always a bit forced and he never really loved her more than he loved himself. The happy ending in that one seemed necessary, yet horribly tacked on. This really isn't the case with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. This relationship, although unlikely at the beginning, really naturally builds and evolves. What starts off as a playful vengeance turns into a very fruitful relationship for the pair and I think that is absolutely fantastic.

I have to stress how much more I love Fred Astaire over Rex Harrison. Rex Harrison was a character actor who had to character sing throughout the film. His dancing was subpar if present at all. On the other hand, I love Fred Astaire in pretty much everything he does, down to his guest appearance on Battlestar Galactica as Starbuck's father. Yeah, I went there. Astaire has this very cool charm, regarless of the period of his career that he is in. I watched Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee fairly recently and that was before he retired from the screen for the first time. That was a period that really was matched for him. He was a young man with a boatload of talent across from his equal, Ginger Rogers. Easter Parade is part of his comeback period, where Astaire is clearly a bit older than Judy Garland, which normally makes the relationship very awkward and distant. But Astaire, despite his older appearance, always seems much more youthful of a personality and has the charm of a much younger man. His physical age, while usually adressed, is secondary to the fact that there is a definite chemistry between the two. This film proves no different.

There's one dance that really gets me going. Astaire is the kind of guy who makes you really want to learn how to do the things he does. I thought at one point, "How nifty it would be just to go into a toy store and tap dance the night away." That toy store dance, while perhaps not among the most impressive routines that he's ever accomplished, showed this sophistication and fun that just made me envy the man. I love the fact that this sequence practically opens the film. He also plays marvelously in a duet with Garland, who really holds her own. I think I will always have a place in my heart for Ginger Rogers, but Garland really does some absolutely terrific stuff with Astaire. I guess the famous image is from the hobo dance, but I really must stress how fun some of the gags they have are.

A lot of the dance numbers have little to do with the actual plot. The plot continues in the story, but there are a great deal of times that the audience is actually treated like a theatre patron who has great seats. We know all the drama and love that is going throughout the story, but we take a break from their personal lives to catch a glimpse of their act and that refreshes us for the followup that is bound to make us reach for a hankie and sign up for tap lessons.

I can't say that Easter Parade is the perfect musical. It has its faults. The main reason is the lack of truly memorable music, but the story itself is fun and the chemistry and spectacle are bar-none some of the best stuff that Hollywood had to offer in the immediate post-war. This is a great, light film that almost embarasses My Fair Lady. Sure, I love Audrey Hepburn, but this is just a better film.