Review of White Christmas (1954) by Jesse O — 12 Dec 2013

This is a good movie, but not necessarily my cup of tea. I've never been a big fan of these old musicals. Hell, I'm not really that big a fan of musicals in general. But to be fair to this film, the song and dance numbers, particularly the dancing, was extravagantly choreographed, it's actually really impressive with the highlight being the first dress rehearsal they do in the inn.

There's so much going on in this scene that the fact that they pull it off so flawlessly is very impressive to me. The story is simple and it definitely overloads on the sweetness. But to be honest, the story is just there to get you to the next song and dance, it really isn't that great of a story because, again, the song and dance numbers distract from the overall narrative.

The cast is good, Danny Kaye definitely steals the show but, again, it's not really a showcase for acting as much as it is a showcase for the musical aspects of the film. At the same time, I didn't really have a problem with these scenes because I think they showcase a time in Hollywood that is long gone and in some ways it's pretty cool to see this type of film and comparing how films have evolved since then.

I wasn't blown away by it because of how much it focused on the song and dance and not on the characters, but it is an entertaining film nonetheless. Not my cup of tea, but it's a good movie.