Review of It's Always Fair Weather (1955) by Edith N — 17 Aug 2011

"It's Always Fair Weather" was one of the last big budget MGM musicals, and I gotta say, it's not half bad. Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, and Micheal Kidd are soldiers who make a plan-- in ten years, they will meet at their favorite bar, and make a bet to see who shows up.

The ten years go by fast, Dan gets married, Micheal gets married and has two kids, and Gene becomes a boxing coach or, hood if you like it. The day comes when they meet again, and it isn't so good-- they have all changed since they last met, and none of them like each other.

But then a TV reporter, Cyd Charisse, thinks it would be just great if they had the three guys on televion special "Midnight with Madeline" starring Dolores Gray. Gene ends up falling for Cyd, which makes things shape up a little more, but who knows what the other two guys will do? "Singin' the Rain" it's not, but like all of the other musicals of the past years, this one is still a charmer.

Sure it isn't as good-- Kelly and Dailey are showing their age and Cinemascope doesn't look as good as Technicolor, but there's always something so nice about having Cyd and Gene in a movie together that this somehow works.

Musicals were coming to a bitter end, and the biggest problem for me was how crappy the songs were. Some are dumb and catchy, but I only saw this an hour ago and I forgot every song. A shame. There's not too many dances either, but I guess Kelly's famous dance on roller skates perks it up a little bit.

But like I said earlier, this movie proves why musicals weren't going too well. If they had just sidelined with the rock 'n roll genre, something could have happened. Too late now. "It's Always Fair Weather" is just fair.