Saturday, April 17, 2010

Singin in the Rain (1952) (2nd time)

A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound. [imdb]

Nominated for 2 Oscars:

Best Supporting Actress: Jean Hagen
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

I’m trying to figure out if I’m a big fan of musicals or not… There are definitely some I love, but I guess I just prefer comedy to musical… and drama to comedy. Singin’ in the Rain is fun; and smart; and well made. However, despite listening to some familiar (and good to say the least) tunes, it’s not the music that attracts me to it. That’s probably why I consider it to be just a strong, good movie, and not an all time favorite.

What attracts me the most to it is, OF COURSE, Jean Hagen’s delicious & funny performance. Actually, the film depends too much on her and when she’s not on screen I can feel the difference. She’s funny and wonderful and very similar to Judy Holliday (so I wasn’t surprised when I read the role was intended for Judy). Jean Hagen deserved to win the Oscar and I think that’s obvious to everyone. Her comedic performance is much more important for the film than people give it credit for.

My rating for the film: 8/10. I like the songs, Cyd Charisse’s dance moments, I adore Jean Hagen, I just don’t love the film as a whole.

3 comments:

  1. I get where you're coming from, I like Singin in the Rain, but not for the music like in Chicago or Cabaret. I like it as a film in itself.

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  2. Another film I think is very overrated. It's fine and I enjoy some of the songs and I too love Jean Hagen, but not one of the best movies ever, nor the best musical ever.

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  3. I don't really think it is overappreciated. I was watching it and felt that I am really watching a great movie. And this film made me really care to two things: musicals and classics.

    And yes, Jean Hagen was fantastic here. A definite Oscar winner that sadly lost.

    Glad you liked it.

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