tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post5315784778859602516..comments2024-01-25T07:08:17.130-05:00Comments on 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die: An American in Paris (1951) **Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-4752071176988901862015-02-23T13:27:01.290-05:002015-02-23T13:27:01.290-05:00I think you and are in the minority in not adoring...I think you and are in the minority in not adoring this. For me it is a vanity project.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-67958564307347947542015-01-14T05:35:12.589-05:002015-01-14T05:35:12.589-05:00I totally agree with you on this one. Here I was g...I totally agree with you on this one. Here I was going crazy over this movie and it turns out I am not alone. It is pretty, yes, but something (or a few things) are definitely missing. Compared to the earlier Gene Kelly musicals I miss Frank Sinatra and his voice, but more than anything I miss something too offset this vanity project, as you put it, of Gene Kelly. At the end of the movie you have seen Gene Kelly dancing and yeah, he dances well, gee, but that is all.TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-31685601667420543532015-01-10T10:07:34.938-05:002015-01-10T10:07:34.938-05:00I'm not a fan of West Side Story, either. Goo...I'm not a fan of West Side Story, either. Good point about some of the musical numbers not seeming forced, as some of the characters were actually musicians. <br /><br />We'll have to disagree about Streetcar, though. <br /><br />I expect there are two camps to the Gene Kelly age debate. Hollywood has a bad history (and present) of pairing older men with young ingenues that just rubs some people the wrong way. Women like Nina Foch always seem to get "artistically" aged while men like Kelly, Cooper, and Bogart (and Clooney and Cruise in present day) find their ages minimized. <br /><br />Like you, my biggest problem with this film is the long dance sequence at the end. It grates on my nerves to no end and comes off as a vanity piece for Kelly.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-82622862684991008382014-11-03T12:13:09.729-05:002014-11-03T12:13:09.729-05:00I'm REALLY not a fan of musicals - for instanc...I'm REALLY not a fan of musicals - for instance I watched "West Side Story" (another Best Picture winner) last week for the first time and it really didn't move me at all aside from a few parts and definitely not from the "musical" perspective (gangs + singing/dancing? uhhh NO lol). However i loved "An American in Paris". i thought the musical parts by and large weren't FORCED, like they flowed from the story (it helped too that the main CHARACTERS by and large were in musical/artistic occupations so it was almost plausible that they'd be singing/dancing at various points of the movie)<br /><br />I think you and others i've read on IMDb fall into the "it beat a superior movie" camp (i personally disliked Vivien Leigh's performance and character in "Streetcar" and since she was the main character that killed my enjoyment of that movie so i don't agree with that sentiment). <br /><br />As for the ages, Gene Kelly may have been pushing 40 but he certainly didn't look it to me, and while i was surprised to find out how much younger Nina Foch was to Kelly in this movie even though she was playing a cougar type, bear in mind that another notable role she had was as Moses' adopted mother in "The Ten Commandments " (it was racking my brain as to WHERE it'd seen her face before, and even though i'd only seen her in that movie, it's a movie i've seen a kajillion times so her face was etched in my memory) She is beautiful, but her face has a distinguished quality to it that lends itself to playing older women - i was actually rather hoping she'd end up with Kelly in the end. <br /><br />My main gripes with AAiP was the long dance sequence at the end, and i think they probably didn't wrap up the fates of some of the auxiliary characters. But nevertheless, for someone with a general animus of the genre, i was largely entertained.Bobbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-76707797139328271392014-07-07T00:30:50.128-04:002014-07-07T00:30:50.128-04:00Such a good point, Steve! Singin' in the Rain...Such a good point, Steve! Singin' in the Rain is so much better and it got snubbed! <br /><br />Of course, I know that aren't a big fan of musicals, but I'm glad to know that we can agree on not liking this one very much.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672005424133365490.post-25446374900714415332014-07-07T00:07:59.361-04:002014-07-07T00:07:59.361-04:00You're not really alone. The greatest tragedy ...You're not really alone. The greatest tragedy of this winning a Best Picture Oscar is that it kind of prevented the nomination of the vastly superior Singin' in the Rain from even being nominated the following year. An American in Paris is fluff. The story is fluff, the romance is fluff. <br /><br />I mean, I like Gene Kelly and I'm happy to watch the man on the dance floor, but I like a little meat with my movies and this one simply doesn't deliver.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.com