Review of Singin' in the Rain (1952) by Rheanna T — 05 May 2012

I guess you may as well sing, because when it's raining, you've got nothing better to do, which isn't to say that I get out much, though it is to say that I like my options open. I don't know about y'all or Creedence Clearwater Revival, but I haven't ever seen the rain come down on a sunny day. Of course, seeing as how it's humid enough when the rain dies down to reveal the sun, if we did see rain coming down on a sunny day, it would undoubtedly be sweat-tastic, and being that I live in Alabama, if that were to happen during the summer, I might burst into flames. You plants can sustain life some other day, because I'd like to enjoy my sunlight. So yeah, as you can probably guess, I'm the kind of guy who would stick glass out in the rain and pull it back in when it's half empty. Gene Kelly, on the other hand, would so much pull in a glass half-full, as much as he would get one of those crazy bit Las Vegas glasses and fill it up to the rim, if the water doesn't form some kind of sustained tower, because when Gene Kelly's in the room even water's gonna perk up. Still, no matter how much Kelly lifts your spirits as he splashes through water, he can't fully drown out the flaws in this little number.

Outside of that rather overlong, yet still disjointedly rushed backstory segment on Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood character at the beginning of the film, there's hardly any development to be found here. Hey, I'll at least give it to them that the underdevelopment fits, because there's hardly any plot to be found here, or at least it feels that way, considering the long periods of non-plot that don't necessarily dull down the film, yet most definately leave the film to drag its feet, especially at the final act, which kicks off with an absurdly overlong interpretive musical number that slows down momentum beyong belief. Still, it's not like the film is going anywhere, as the story - such as it is - goes tainted by not only padding and moments of disjoint, but an overall lack of oomph in the air. There is a plot, but barely one, and it's obscured even further by Gene Kelly, as director, pumping the atmosphere with so much unrelenting flare, style and freneticism to the point of tainting a genuine feel of consequence, which isn't to say that this film's story is a terribly dramatic one, yet it is to say that there's hardly any, if at all any conflict. The overwhelming charisma that Kelly, as director, shrouds this film in not only drowns out much of the intrigue and engaging oomph behind this paper-thin plot, but leaves it rather obnoxious, and in a situation like that, you'll fall right through, unless caught by a net of ultimately triumphant strengths. Well, as the test of time has taught us, those strengths triumphed in the end, though the test of time also taught us that "West Side Story" is among the greatest musicals ever made, so maybe we should kind of pull back a bit on listening to the nostalgics, except on their point that the strengths in this film triumph in the end. The film is most certainly not without its missteps, yet it makes up for them by really living up to its perhaps overambitious promises of flare, charm and, of course, style.

With clever wit and crackle-snap dialogue amidst a flawed, yet generally winning script, the film really captures the fluff and slickness of 1920s cinema, particularly the fascinating transition into talking pictures, and does it with a frantic bounce of style and livliness that keeps the film consistently engaging, especially during the musical numbers. The tunes are catchy, versatile and stylish, with snappy lyrics and soulful singing that go complimented by dynamically-staged, elaborately-shot, slickly-stylized and all around well-produced productions, which would be nothing without the charismatic, committed and generally expert stylings of the performers. Of course, the talented performers can do more than just produce charisma when the music is playing, or at least most of them can. I must admit, Jean Hagen really nailed her role as an unpalatably obnoxious, deeply unlikable and charismaless non-starlette, though maybe a little too well, making her both one of the most authentic performers of the film, as well as decidedly the worst. Everyone else, on the other hand, really know what they're doing, really delivering on the charm and livliness that really makes for a good ensemble cast like this, from which Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly stand out. O'Connor has the life-of-the-party talent role down, with bubbling charisma matched only by Gene Kelly, as the lead actor, a job that he gets done with his usual touch of crackling charm and presence that creates fiery chemistry with most everyone in the cast, with the obvious exception of the so-obnoxious-I-wouldn't-wish-her-upon-my-enemies Jean Hagen. There's not much to the film, yet it still has a checklist that it sets out to do, and the whole, it gets most everything on that checklist down, thus creating a charmer of a picture that wins you over much more often than it loses you.

As the rain and singing die down, it's hard to not wonder about what in the world you just watched, considering the underwhelming and rather repetitious plot, made all the worse by a mild lack of development and a considerable lack of oomph in the atmosphere, yet it's really kind of hard to care all that much, for although the film may not be terribly up to snuff from a substance standpoint, it delivers on slick style to compliment dazzling and catchy musical numbers, while a mostly colorful of static charismas compliment the clever, charming and era-nailing screenplay that helps in making "Singin' in the Rain" a mostly rewarding, consistently snappy and ultimately thoroughly entertaining classic charmer.

3/5 - Good.