Musical Mondays - Week 18 - Gigi

[kateacola 2440]

 

How was An American in Paris? That was my second choice.

I liked it, it made me want to watch more Gene Kelly movies. (why I watched The Pirate after, and I probably will watch more of his movies soon)

 

The plot was a bit weak and Gene Kelly's character was slightly creeper-ish. His character was aggressively trying to get Caron's character to go out with him.

So that was a bit off putting, but he was charming so I got on board once Caron's character did.

 

That is why I think I could be a little more forgiving of Gigi if Gaston was a bit more charming and likeable. (And if Chevalier was out of the picture).

 

Really loved all the dancing/choreography in An American in Paris, especially the very last ballet number.

 

Having watched Gigi first, I had no idea Caron could dance/ was a ballet dancer.. So that made me confused why there wasnt much dancing in Gigi. Felt like a waste.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I liked it, it made me want to watch more Gene Kelly movies. (why I watched The Pirate after, and I probably will watch more of his movies soon)

 

The plot was a bit weak and Gene Kelly's character was slightly creeper-ish. His character was aggressively trying to get Caron's character to go out with him.

So that was a bit off putting, but he was charming so I got on board once Caron's character did.

 

That is why I think I could be a little more forgiving of Gigi if Gaston was a bit more charming and likeable. (And if Chevalier was out of the picture).

 

Really loved all the dancing/choreography in An American in Paris, especially the very last ballet number.

 

Having watched Gigi first, I had no idea Caron could danc/ was a ballet dancer.. So that made me confused why there wasnt much dancing in Gigi. Felt like a waste.

 

I agree with you about Chevalier. He honestly didn't bring much to the table. If anything, his presence is a detriment to the film. Every time he's on screen, he muddies the water with his incessant "little girls" talk. If it was just about an aristocrat falling in love with a "peasant" woman, I don't think it would be anymore objectionable than, say, Beauty and the Beast or any other fairy tale about two people from different worlds coming together.

[tomspanks 9039]

Re: Chevalier, I read on Wikipedia that "the character of Honoré, nonexistent in the original book and very minor in the Loos play, was now a major figure. Gigi's mother, originally a significant character, was reduced to a few lines of dialogue delivered off-screen."

 

That brings me to my next gripe, which is why bother with the mother character? What exactly does she bring to the table?

[Cam Bert 8145]

To chime a bit more in about the Oscars here are two movies released the same year as Gigi that weren't nominated for best picture, Touch of Evil and Vertigo. Yes I agree that it deserves the costuming and things like that but it literally looks like they had access to one bit of a park in France where they shot from every angle imaginable then did the rest on sets. Gigi isn't even the best song in Gigi and that was the one that won. It's crazy. I would like to assume that people at the time were so obsessives with France and the beauty and awe of Parisian culture that they were duped into voting for it. It's competition for picture that year was The Defiant Ones, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Aunt Mame and Separate Tables.

 

However, I feel like I should say something positive about this movie. It did do something that I really like in musicals and that's the conversational duet. I actually really liked the song between Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. Like Cameron said earlier I kinda wish they went a bit more into their story. It seems like they were a good couple once, why else would Gaston years later still go see Hermione Gingold for social visits?

[Cam Bert 8145]

That brings me to my next gripe, which is why bother with the mother character? What exactly does she bring to the table?

Seeing as their is no father character, and given Hermione Gingold's previous relation with Maurice Chevalier are we suppose to believe that this is a family of spinsters or something? That's why it's more shocking or moving when Gigi does marry?

[tomspanks 9039]

To chime a bit more in about the Oscars here are two movies released the same year as Gigi that weren't nominated for best picture, Touch of Evil and Vertigo. Yes I agree that it deserves the costuming and things like that but it literally looks like they had access to one bit of a park in France where they shot from every angle imaginable then did the rest on sets. Gigi isn't even the best song in Gigi and that was the one that won. It's crazy. I would like to assume that people at the time were so obsessives with France and the beauty and awe of Parisian culture that they were duped into voting for it. It's competition for picture that year was The Defiant Ones, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Aunt Mame and Separate Tables.

 

However, I feel like I should say something positive about this movie. It did do something that I really like in musicals and that's the conversational duet. I actually really liked the song between Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. Like Cameron said earlier I kinda wish they went a bit more into their story. It seems like they were a good couple once, why else would Gaston years later still go see Hermione Gingold for social visits?

 

No. Fuck that guy.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Re: Chevalier, I read on Wikipedia that "the character of Honoré, nonexistent in the original book and very minor in the Loos play, was now a major figure. Gigi's mother, originally a significant character, was reduced to a few lines of dialogue delivered off-screen."

 

That brings me to my next gripe, which is why bother with the mother character? What exactly does she bring to the table?

 

Well, that goes into something that bothered me. I think it was to show Gigi's "rough life." Basically, she has an absentee mother and a father who...died(?) They seemed to be trying to paint this dire picture for her and her "way out" was to become a courtesan. Keep in mind, even if Gaston hadn't been in the picture, that was ultimately her Aunt's plan for her.

 

My problem, though, is they never really nailed down how impoverished they were meant to be. I thought they had a lovely apartment, and until made mention of how poor they were supposed to be, I thought they were meant to be well to do. She also had a wonderfully supportive grandmother.

[tomspanks 9039]

My problem, though, is they never really nailed down how impoverished they were meant to be. I thought they had a lovely apartment, and until made mention of how poor they were supposed to be, I thought they were meant to be well to do. She also had a wonderfully supportive grandmother.

 

I thought they had a lovely apartment, but then Gaston describes the apartment as moldy, with decaying walls and worm ridden furniture (what?), surrounded by filth. That definitely didn't come through in the movie.

 

Seeing as their is no father character, and given Hermione Gingold's previous relation with Maurice Chevalier are we suppose to believe that this is a family of spinsters or something? That's why it's more shocking or moving when Gigi does marry?

 

This reminds me of something else. In the beginning of the movie, Chevalier says "Like everywhere else, most people in Paris get married. But not all. There are some who will not marry and some who do not marry. But here in Paris, those who will not are usually men and those who do not are usually women." What is he trying to say?

[Cam Bert 8145]

This reminds me of something else. In the beginning of the movie, Chevalier says "Like everywhere else, most people in Paris get married. But not all. There are some who will not marry and some who do not marry. But here in Paris, those who will not are usually men and those who do not are usually women." What is he trying to say?

Continuing with it's outdated social values, men will not marry women because they'd rather live the swinging bachelor life sleeping with hot young Gigi's whenever it pleases them, and as a result women do not marry because the men are busy playing around to want to settle down with them.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

This reminds me of something else. In the beginning of the movie, Chevalier says "Like everywhere else, most people in Paris get married. But not all. There are some who will not marry and some who do not marry. But here in Paris, those who will not are usually men and those who do not are usually women." What is he trying to say?

 

Oh, it's as bad as it sounds. Basically, women "do not marry," because even if they want to get married, they might not find a man who's willing. Men "will not marry," because they don't have to. They can have all the power. In other words, why get married when I can just have a parade of courtesans?

[tomspanks 9039]

I was afraid of that.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I was afraid of that.

 

I'm sorry I couldn't allay your fears. It was just as bad as that "you might not marry first, but you might marry at last" nonsense.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Out of curiosity did anyone like the character of Gigi? Like she's not loathsome like the male characters for sure, and I didn't hate her at all. She that I found her kinda bland and we didn't really spend that much time with her to really like her beyond a "oh, no don't go with that guy. This is wrong" kind of attachment.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Out of curiosity did anyone like the character of Gigi? Like she's not loathsome like the male characters for sure, and I didn't hate her at all. She that I found her kinda bland and we didn't really spend that much time with her to really like her beyond a "oh, no don't go with that guy. This is wrong" kind of attachment.

 

I liked her and her grandmother, but that's about it.

[tomspanks 9039]

Out of curiosity did anyone like the character of Gigi? Like she's not loathsome like the male characters for sure, and I didn't hate her at all. She that I found her kinda bland and we didn't really spend that much time with her to really like her beyond a "oh, no don't go with that guy. This is wrong" kind of attachment.

 

I didn't hate the character, but I can't say I really liked her either. I felt sorry for her more than anything.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

 

I thought they had a lovely apartment, but then Gaston describes the apartment as moldy, with decaying walls and worm ridden furniture (what?), surrounded by filth. That definitely didn't come through in the movie.

 

This gets at something I did actually like about the film. That is, the movie allows it's characters to say two-faced, hypocritical bullshit and lies and trust that the audience will know the speaker is full of shit. In this case, Gaston is packed to his starched collar full of shit. Of course Gigi's apartment is gorgeous, especially for early 19th Century Paris, but Gaston is so out-of-touch, so in his own ivory tower, and so determined to look at others with disdain, that he's willing to let himself belief Gigi lives in squalor. Sure, maybe her family is cash-poor compared to his tycoon-level wealth, but actual poor, they are not. It's kind of like someone shitting on his girlfriend's Mercedes S-class just because he drives around in a Rolls Royce. What a turd.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

Another thing that really bothered me about the movie is the way the ADR and lip-syncing was done. I know it's a musical and I know this was the way a lot of movies were done at the time, but it seemed like every damn line was ADR'd, spoken or sung. This is fine, but it was SO clumsily done, it was as if entirely different performances were driving the on-set scenes and the spoken dialogue. Again, I know a lot of the performers were French and having to perform in English, my issue is to how poorly the dialogue was synchronized with the visuals. Just very distracting.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Sorry, I picked kind of a dud, guys. I had hoped, being an Academy Award Winning film and all, that it would have been better.

[tomspanks 9039]

This gets at something I did actually like about the film. That is, the movie allows it's characters to say two-faced, hypocritical bullshit and lies and trust that the audience will know the speaker is full of shit. In this case, Gaston is packed to his starched collar full of shit. Of course Gigi's apartment is gorgeous, especially for early 19th Century Paris, but Gaston is so out-of-touch, so in his own ivory tower, and so determined to look at others with disdain, that he's willing to let himself belief Gigi lives in squalor. Sure, maybe her family is cash-poor compared to his tycoon-level wealth, but actual poor, they are not. It's kind of like someone shitting on his girlfriend's Mercedes S-class just because he drives around in a Rolls Royce. What a turd.

 

 

I wondered though if the movie did a poor job of depicting the home life of Gigi and her family. Do they even have an income besides Gigi's mother's gig at the opera? I think they mention she has one line, so she can't be earning enough to support 3 people, right? So all things considered, I think it's more likely that they live in squalor rather than in the beautiful set from the movie.

[tomspanks 9039]

Sorry, I picked kind of a dud, guys. I had hoped, being an Academy Award Winning film and all, that it would have been better.

 

While I'm not enamored with the movie, it was an interesting look back at the past. Gigi is kind of considered a good, wholesome, family movie, right? It's amazing how much attitudes have changed.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Sorry, I picked kind of a dud, guys. I had hoped, being an Academy Award Winning film and all, that it would have been better.

I haven't had time to watch or participate but from reading this thread it sounds that there was a lot to unpack and discuss so I don't count this as a dud at all!

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I haven't had time to watch or participate but from reading this thread it sounds that there was a lot to unpack and discuss so I don't count this as a dud at all!

 

Thanks! I mean, that was my hope - at least once I realized what the movie was about.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

 

 

I wondered though if the movie did a poor job of depicting the home life of Gigi and her family. Do they even have an income besides Gigi's mother's gig at the opera? I think they mention she has one line, so she can't be earning enough to support 3 people, right? So all things considered, I think it's more likely that they live in squalor rather than in the beautiful set from the movie.

 

I did see it as more of an Old Money vs. New Money type of conflict. Gigi's family maybe was part of the old aristocracy, raised to believe in their own superior status, but now have no actual money to spend and have to rely on their traditional status. That's why they put so much stock in manners and etiquette and why they center their plot to land Gigi a husband around "educating" her on social niceties. Gaston, being the product of New Money (being a sugar magnate) is rich as hell, and frequently sings about being bored with the minutia of social performance.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

Thanks! I mean, that was my hope - at least once I realized what the movie was about.

You succeeded! I mean, this movie won 9 fucking Oscars. It defintely says something about the culture in which it was made and how that culture viewed the society it depicts. (Middle aged men marrying teenage girls! LOL! Family Entertainment Spectacular!)

[tomspanks 9039]

I haven't had time to watch or participate but from reading this thread it sounds that there was a lot to unpack and discuss so I don't count this as a dud at all!

 

You mean you're not going to study this movie in prep for your trip?