Review of Gigi (1958) by Matthew R — 19 Apr 2011

The 1958 musical Gigi won nine Oscars, including Best Picture. Why such a piece of fluff like this won, with hardly any memorable songs and a trite plot, is a mystery most including myself will never quite figure out. It's based on a novella by the French novelist Colette, and is derived from the superior original French film made in 1949 and not the 1951 Broadway play that starred Audrey Hepburn (she turned down the film part). It features a vapid score from the My Fair Lady team of composers, the familiar sounding tunes makes it seem like they stole from their own past hit.

The film is set in Paris, France and is about a girl named Gigi (Leslie Caron), go figure. Gigi however doesn't really play much of a role in the plot; most of it is centered on the love life of famous millionaire playboy, Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan.) Gaston, the man-slut, has again broken up with another one of his many love interests, and has become bored with the dating scene in its entirety. In between his carousing, he occasionally stops to visit the house of longtime friend Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold) who lives with her attractive granddaughter Gigi. Quite obviously at some point Gigi will become the object of Gaston's affection, but at the beginning of the film it is "supposedly" made she is too young for him as she skips and prances around the house in schoolgirl clothing. Gaston isn't forced to realize that she could become a possible love interest until one day she is seen parading around in what I would call a nice looking' dress. Pedophileyishly, he offers to take her out for tea, and from their things take off.

Without trying to use clichéd; "Gigi" is a tedious, far too stately film. The almost completely static camera positioning really doesn't work here; it positively adds to the cold, aloof feel of the film. It certainly doesn't pass muster as a good social commentary or musical, with only hints of cleverness in the dialogue, and oddly repetitive (like I said earlier, My Fair Lady composers) music. Maurice Chevalier really is underused; he seems irrelevant to the main, boring Pygmalion plot. He has a kind of absurd, dandyish swagger to him that works due to his charisma; he plays up the lecherous old extravagant Frenchman role to perfection. Sadly, after a decent early entrance with Chevalier, Louis Jourdan is very bland and un-engaging. Leslie Caron, a good decade too old for the role, isn't very impressive as Gigi herself. The distance of the camerawork leads to a certain distance from characters that are at best, competently played.

In the end, the surplus of talk, the lack of dancing and of memorable music all contribute to "Gigi" being a very dull, talky film, that struggled to keep my attention. Do yourself a favor and watch My Fair Lady.

Story: C.

Acting: C+.

Direction: D.

Visuals: B+.

Overall: C.

** out of 4 stars.