Singin’ In The Rain

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

3 hours ago, Cam Bert said:

Here's what I'll say for Singing in the Rain over Swing Time. I think in general Singing in the Rain has better music over all. Swing Time is more about the dance numbers which is fine, but Singing in the Rain has more iconic songs which tend to stick with you and you find yourself humming or singing in following days. This makes it a bit more memorable and adds to overall enjoyment. Also, while I will not say Singing in Rain has a much better story, the story for me anyway, just flows better. Swing Time had some scenes that just introduce a conflict and resolve just to move on the the next part of the story they want to tell. I also think the jokes work better in Singing in the Rain as well. I can see how a lot of this comes down to personal taste though.

Singin' in the Rain definitely sticks very clearly to the central theme of being a movie about the transition from silent to talking pictures. All of the primary conflicts in the movie are centered around that. It's not the most complex thing in the world, but it introduces a major conflict between major characters near the beginning (Don vs. Lena) that is resolved at the end.

Swing Time is all over the place, by comparison. They introduce a major plot element (leading man needs to get married), and at the end the whole thing is hand-waved away in baffling fashion. There's no real resolution; it just ends. On dance sequences alone, it can certainly compete with Singin', but for plot and characters it's no contest.

[DavyHobie 0]

Love and look forward to each new episode! Great show concept!

In a shameless plug, check out another "Singin' In The Rain" animated tribute at the end of the Frederator Studios short I did with my daughter. (It starts around 04:41)

https://youtu.be/cDPVCMasOW0

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

On 8/25/2018 at 12:03 PM, sycasey 2.0 said:

Not to mention naming Pennies From Heaven as your favorite musical, even though that is also a jukebox musical in which the actors literally lip-sync, and one that also wears its influences on its sleeve as much or more than La La Land does.

As a long-time Canon listener, I'll just say here that sometimes Amy will get something stuck in her craw about a popular movie and make some bizarre arguments to support a negative take on it. It hasn't happened much on Unspooled, given that we're dealing with some widely-appreciated classics, but just wait until we get to Goodfellas.

Hoooo boy, Scorsese is one of my all-time favorite directors, and my dad's family so New Jersey Italian American that he when to fucking elementary school with Ray Liotta. My dad's older sisters would bring them cookies and milk after school when they would come over and play. Goodfellas is in my blood!

"I need some chocolate chip here, Tommy!"

[Susan* 135]

I've seen this movie many times but I usually skip over parts of it.  It's not a perfect movie.  I re-watched front to back for this podcast.

I was glad they called out Jean Hagen at the top of the podcast -- she steals the movie.  I like Debbie Reynolds in other things, but for me she sticks out as mis-cast.  I usually skip over all of her scenes except for Good Morning and the very end of the movie.

I always thought that the ballet dancer was a no-name ballet dancer -- she doesn't look like Cyd C to me.    Then again, I usually skip ahead after Cyd dances in the green dress.

I hate Moses Supposes, but a good friend of mine loved it and she died a couple of years ago so now I guess it's destined to be a fond annoyance.

I think this is one of the best musicals of all time, but I think it's uneven and flawed and that's okay.  There's still more good stuff than in most musicals.  I love the whole long intro to pieces.  I know that Gene Kelly is the better dancer and he did far more in his lifetime to support dance and dancers, but on a snowy night around the holidays I'd rather watch Astaire and Rogers.  For one thing, Astaire had Rogers.  And Swing Time is not one of their best movies--we covered that before!  

[taylor anne photo 11311]

On 8/24/2018 at 9:50 PM, Quasar Sniffer said:

In that spirit, is Singin' in the Rain really so much better than, say, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or American in Paris? I really don't think so, but it's an arbitrary distinction anyway. For me, seeing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as part of the Musical Mondays club, it came as a complete surprise. I had no idea I would enjoy it so much, and enjoying it with a group of Wonderful Movie-Watchers like yourselves was an extra treat that made me enjoy it all the more. Singin' in the Rain comes with the same baggage as Citizen Kane, of being one of The Greats. Does it deserve to be on this list? I think it absolutely does. But it is not perfect, as others have said, with the Broadway Melody feeling rather overlong and out-of-place, despite its brilliance. I could watch the title number or "Make 'em Laugh" a thousand times and still love them though.

Lastly, I would never deride anyone for loving Mamma Mia, but I do think it is rather unfair to criticize La La Land for a lack of originality in the same breath as praising a jukebox musical composed of songs from a single band.

Quasar knows the way to my heart by mentioning Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which is definitely above Singin' in the Rain for me and I really love SitR.

Also I wonder if the Mamma Mia vs La La Land thing is more because Mamma Mia knows exactly what it is and never tries to be anything different. That's why I think it does better than something like Across the Universe, which I still love, because it's not once got even an ounce of pretentious nature in it. They came to have fun and sing ABBA and they don't shy away from it. But with La La Land you can tell that while Chazelle was trying to do this modern homage to Hollywood of the past, there is a lot that could be perceived as pretentious, and I hear a lot more people from LA don't like it as much as those of us from anywhere else.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

1 hour ago, taylorannephoto said:

Quasar knows the way to my heart by mentioning Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which is definitely above Singin' in the Rain for me and I really love SitR.

Also I wonder if the Mamma Mia vs La La Land thing is more because Mamma Mia knows exactly what it is and never tries to be anything different. That's why I think it does better than something like Across the Universe, which I still love, because it's not once got even an ounce of pretentious nature in it. They came to have fun and sing ABBA and they don't shy away from it. But with La La Land you can tell that while Chazelle was trying to do this modern homage to Hollywood of the past, there is a lot that could be perceived as pretentious, and I hear a lot more people from LA don't like it as much as those of us from anywhere else.

Though if that's the argument (and it's totally fine for someone to prefer Mamma Mia), then I'd expect the criticism of La La Land to be "it's pretentious" or "it's no fun," not "it's unoriginal." It's more the thrust of the argument that confuses me, not the idea that someone might not like the movie.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

1 minute ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

Though if that's the argument (and it's totally fine for someone to prefer Mamma Mia), then I'd expect the criticism of La La Land to be "it's pretentious" or "it's no fun," not "it's unoriginal." It's more the thrust of the argument that confuses me, not the idea that someone might not like the movie.

That makes sense. I had forgotten that she had said that so that does put another question mark on top of it. Maybe, in the same vein as what I mentioned, Chazelle tried to really pass it off as this super original concept? When again Mamma Mia really leans in to what it is?

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

4 hours ago, taylorannephoto said:

That makes sense. I had forgotten that she had said that so that does put another question mark on top of it. Maybe, in the same vein as what I mentioned, Chazelle tried to really pass it off as this super original concept? When again Mamma Mia really leans in to what it is?

I'd disagree with that charge (I think Chazelle absolutely wants you to recognize his references), but yeah maybe I could see an argument around that.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

This all just reminds me of this hilarious video Jonah Ray made when it was discovered that La La Land actually lost to Moonlight

 

[tomspanks 9039]

On 8/24/2018 at 2:58 PM, DanEngler said:

Debbie Reynolds, on the other hand, is magnetic every second she's on screen. I need to seek out more of her work, starting with her intriguing turn in Mega Man.

Moreover, Kathy and the other dancers throw that arm puff into the crowd during their performance.  Why??

I liked this outfit though - especially the built in purse.