Review of Funny Face (1932) by Maha M — 23 Jul 2011

I hate when actors who are not singers or dancers in musicals. Funny Face unfortunately suffers from this. While Astaire is in his element and as charming as ever, even he, with his absolutely fabulous partnering skills, cannot make Hepburn look like a dancer. Hepburn is stunning to look at, but she is not a very good singer and only a passable dancer at best. The director was smart to keep her dancing in low light to hide he iffy lines. The entire film has a forced and contrived feeling to it. It feels like a money grab from the studios to capitalize on a couple of its stars.

There are some nice little moments, when Astaire and Hepburn step onto the raft during He Loves, She Loves, the colour design of How Long Has This Been Going On, and the How to Be Lovely number. Kay Thompson is the bright light of the film giving an energy to the film that is missing from the stars.

Overall Funny Face is tired and falls flat, using all the cliche and eye rolling moments of the great musicals but without the charm, whit or heart of the greats.