Review of Pal Joey (1957) by Tim H — 23 Aug 2008

It's a light-hearted Moulin Rouge! (Or, for sticklers, La Traviata.).

There's not a lot that is really going for Pal Joey. I mean, sure, it is a fun time and a great time with Frank Sinatra. But is there a lot of depth to this movie? Not really. Honestly, this movie is a very safe film that really doesn't tug at the heartstrings in any direction. Sure, you kind of feal for Kim Novak, but you just think that Rita Hayworth is kind of a b*tch. The thing is, there are no bad guys in this movie and I think that is what really kills it. There is this really clear and obvious conflict going on. I mentioned Moulin Rouge! at the beginning of the review and it is that with a bit of a gender switch. Instead of a prostitute forced to do her job under threat of punishment and murder, we really have a nightclub singer who prostitutes himself for the advancement of his career. Sure, all the right morals are taught in the end, but that's because the characters are far too willing to give up their goals for the sake tha thte movie needs an unrealistically cheery feel.

Really, the draw for this movie is the music. I mean, this is Frank Sinatra playing a lounge singer. Really, there's no stretch of imagination to how he got this part. He's done other musicals, like Guys and Dolls, but at least he keeps to the notes pretty accurately. Pal Joey is where he got "The Lady is a Tramp" from. Yeah, he's not exactly pushing his boundaries on this one. It's very cool to hear him sing it for the first time in this movie. But another joy to the movie is Kim Novak. I haven't seen Kim Novak in a lot of stuff besides Vertigo. What's really odd (and slightly creepy if you think about it) is that Kim Novak is absolutely stunning. A regular bombshell in this movie. But in some ways, she looks like a real person. You always see these Hollywood romances and the girl could rarely ever exist in reality. That's not exactly the way it plays out in this movie. There is one absolutely fantastic scene that kind of sold the movie for me. There is this moment in the film where she is forced to strip publically to save her job. Frank stops her, but you see that she has a genuine shyness about the entire thing. She keeps her professionalism, sure, but you can kind of see the torture and suffering in her eyes. While she is beautiful, and maybe because she is beautiful, you don't want to see her hurt. She is already in a place that she clearly doesn't love with her life, but it is what she has and wishes to get away from all these problems.

One of the main things I had problems with was the fact that manipulation worked in this movie. Kim Novak's Ms. English saw through Joey's confidence and gave him a taste of his own medicine. But then she all of the sudden falls in love with him. Also, the guy who was in love with Novak has no objections to Joey's lifestyle and greed. While I understand that it is important to have that romance blossom, I just didn't believe it when I saw it. I even understand why there was animosity between the two characters, but going from zero to sixty in no time flat just left me a bit cold with this movie.

I also have to say that I was not really impressed with Rita Hayworth's performance. I am aware that this movie took forever to get into development and Hayworth was originally cast as Ms. English, but she really doesn't suit that stuffy older part as well as she should. I understand that she still looks pretty good for her age, but I just felt uncomfortable with that entire relationship. I really wanted to like her part, but it just wasn't happening for me.

I have to stress that this movie isn't terrible. It's actually pretty entertaining. It just really lacks substance and that's something that I usually beg for in movies. I don't regret watching this one and might even watch it again, but there's a lot holding this back that could have been fixed if some risks were taken.