The Artist (2011)
Film #17: The Artist (2011)
When was the last time a silent movie came out? I certainly couldn’t tell you, and I have a degree in film studies – but after this year, any casual film fan will be able to tell you. The Artist, a French film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, is a silent film emulative of the earliest popular Hollywood era, even choosing the classic 4:3 aspect ratio instead of modern-day widescreen. It’s also set during that time period, between 1927 and 1932, and in a very Singin’ in the Rain-esque story, examines the impact that talking pictures had on the industry’s original silent stars. The Artist made a huge splash when it came out late last year, and it’s nominated for no less than ten Academy Awards at this year’s Oscars. Is it possible that all this acclaim stems from the film’s harkening back to a glamorized past of the industry? Probably a bit, but that doesn’t mean The Artist isn’t a great movie in and of itself – it most certainly is.
Top Hat (1935)
Top Hat is one of the most famous musicals of all time, and possibly the most acclaimed of the ten movies that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together. I personally first learned of the film through its inclusion in The Green Mile, which I had seen when I was much younger. I had always been interested in the film that spawned the “Cheek to Cheek” number, and since then I’ve seen Top Hat a few times.
As film critic Alonso Duralde once told me, watching an Astaire and Rogers movie for plot will only result in heartache. I’d be willing to say that that goes for most movies made during this time, when studios had solidified their movie-churning process and nothing was allowed to be too original. Therefore, I feel like it’s best to look at the movie for what it’s really showcasing – the musical abilities of its two leads, the unmatchable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
In that regard, Top Hat is excellent. The musical numbers just seem to get better and better. No Strings (I’m Fancy Free) is usual Astaire goodness, where he makes sure to utilize the furniture around him as part of his dance. His sand tap dancing to put Rogers asleep is also a nice touch, both interesting and somewhat romantic. Isn’t This a Lovely Day (To be Caught in the Rain) is enjoyable because Rogers gets to match Astaire in his dance steps under a gazebo.
Top Hat, White Tie and Tails is a fantastic number. Although it uses more than one shot, which went against Astaire’s philosophy on dance sequences, it includes him using his cane as a prop to a marvelous degree. It becomes a rifle that he tap-shoots his backup dancers with, and the whole thing is both humorous and impressive. Cheek to Cheek is of course possibly the best known song that Astaire and Rogers ever performed together, and it’s not hard to see why. The lyrics are as sweet as anything you could imagine, and their dancing together is exemplary of top-notch class. This is also the instance of Rogers’ feather dress which would gain her the nickname “Feathers” to Astaire for the rest of their career, and which would be referenced in Astaire’s Easter Parade.
The Piccolino is admittedly a nonsense song with subpar lyrics, but the big dance number makes up for it, and to be fair, it was really just an exercise at rhyming an unusual word. With that in mind, it’s not so horrible a tune, and serves as an adequate finale to the film.
Unfortunately, I am unable to praise this film as flawless and perfect. It would be dishonest of me to not admit that the plot had me irritated. I understand that the comical mishap of ascribing a wrong identity to someone may not have been overdone when this movie came out, but nowadays such a thing is more than trite, and the entirety of the plot relies on it. It’s very contrived, and you realize that the entire ordeal would be solved if the characters were just able to better communicate. I couldn’t stand that Rogers mistook Astaire to be her friend’s husband for almost the entire picture. It was such a weak foundation to a silly storyline.
I also wasn’t a fan of the butler character Bates, who was inconsistent and unnecessarily flamboyant. Alberto Beddini was played by Eric Rhodes, who very obviously wasn’t Italian, and the result is one of the worst accents I’ve ever heard in filmic history. These weak and sometimes annoying characters, combined with the questionable plot, are weakpoints to a film that has otherwise survived its 75 year age to remain relevant.
If you can bring yourself to ignore such inconvenient deficiencies, the musical numbers will not disappoint. Astaire and Rogers are possibly at their finest here, showcasing their dancing and musical skills and proving why, 70 years later, we all still know and love their names, and why 70 years from now they’ll remain just as relevant.
Final rating: 7.5/10
–James A. Janisse
Easter Parade (1948)
Part of my Musicals class at U of M involved watching the only film with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, Easter Parade. The film is your standard musical fare, lively and saccharine with little character development but interesting dance numbers.
Easter Parade features Astaire as a dancer whose partner has decided she’s had enough with him. To prove that he doesn’t need her and can teach any woman in the world to be a good dancer, he enlists Judy Garland, a dancer at a bar, to be his new partner. After seeing so many movies in which Astaire was paired with Ginger Rogers, you can’t help but wonder if this plotline was at all inspired by her, or if there was any kind of bad blood between them after their split.
This was one of Astaire’s later films, and his character seems to reflect his increasing age in all the worst ways. In Easter Parade, Astaire comes off as arrogant, grouchy, and overall a crotchety old man. It would have been fine if the movie acknowledged it, but it moves along as if Astaire is your average likeable hero, ignoring the fact that his very first scene involves him stealing a drum from a little boy. In accordance with this take, Garland falls in love with Astaire despite his cold shoulders, possibly only because he’s a famous dancer.
And yet it’s hardly surprising that this happens. Old movies, especially musicals, tend to have weak female characters who only serve as a sort of plot device for the male star to move around. This is also evident in the fact that Astaire receives a number of solo dances and songs, while Garland only receives one (I Want to Go Back to Michigan; Irving Berlin apparently liked to rhyme unusual words like Michigan, but I don’t think the fellow has ever been to the state. I live there, and it’s nothing like the farms and rural living that Garland sings about).
Another aspect of the film that I assume lies with its age is its slight anti-intellectual theme. It’s not prominent or anything, but it’s definitely there, as the archetypal wise bartender dispenses more knowledge than any old school books could. And it’s also hard to ignore the fact that minorities are only featured in servant positions.
But besides these problems that plague most pre-1960 films, the movie is fine. It’s upbeat and colorful; in fact, I think that when the filmmakers realized they were doing this in color they decided to go all out with it. The result is a sometimes over-saturated amount of colors on screen, which can occasionally be distracting. Also distracting were a few scenes that just seemed out of place. There was an over-eccentric waiter who really gets into describing his salad, and a completely random shot of Astaire dancing in slow motion while his back-up dancers dance in real-time. Both of these instances brought me out of the film and made me question it, something that I imagine colorful musicals aren’t trying to make you do.
Judy Garland can seem a bit hoakey at times, but honestly, it’s a thing that works for her so it’s okay. Ann Miller, who co-stars as Astaire’s ex-partner, does a fantastic job if not in acting then at least in dancing. Her solo tap-dancing number was a possible highlight of the film, and makes me able to say that one of the best tap dancing numbers I’ve ever seen was done by a female. Peter Lawford also co-stars, and you just end up feeling bad for his wholesome character who gets shafted out of a love interest. If you know your musicals like I (for better or worse) do now, you might be interested in the allusion to Rogers’ feather dress from Top Hat here, as Garland wears a dress that similarly sheds during a performance.
Overall, I imagine one would only like this film if they really liked old time musicals. I’m not sure whether or not I can consider myself part of that camp, and my opinion of the film is almost entirely neutral. There are a few catchy songs and visually exciting numbers, but the film is fluffy and airheaded. I guess it’s worth taking a look at two of the greatest classical movie stars together in a feature, but I wouldn’t rush out to rent it.
Final rating: 6/10
–James A. Janisse
