![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
lazy Sunday with Fred & Ginger
Dear Internal Organs,
What did I ever do to you? Could ya'll at *least* stop coordinating your efforts, or whatever diabolical thing you want to call this?
Sincerely,
Me
Anyway.
I watched Shall We Dance again with Lindsey today - for context, I am watching my way through all the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies in chronological order - and picked up a few more things. For instance, during the famous, adorable dance on roller skates to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", they are wearing those old-fashioned skates - you know, the ones that are just strips of metal on wheels strapped over your shoes - and Ginger is wearing them over heels. Modest heels, but seriously, how the fuck did she not break her neck? Damn, girl.
The comic singing part of that number (which, yes, was specifically written for this movie and inspired by the way Fred and Ginger actually pronounced 'neither') is great - no one raises a dubious eyebrow like Ginger Rogers, and obviously the song is a classic, but Fred's little WTF faces during the second verse with the increasingly ridiculous pronunciations ('oysters'/'ersters', really?) really captures the spirit of the song and the hilarious acknowledgment that their disagreements are completely inane and neither of them really want to call anything off. ♥
"They Can't Take That Away From Me" is a just gorgeous song, and I loved the mise-en-scene: the juxtaposition of the grungy ferry with the twinkling skyline of New York, all softened by fog and shadows. And for some reason, Peter giving the little old lady a 900% tip for the gardenia always charms me. I noticed the score a lot more this time - Slap That Bass showing up at the dinner party, the quirky little piece that plays over the dogwalking romantic montage, and so forth.
About the final number: okay, I don't know much about ballet, but that did not look like ballet - kind of like in Follow the Fleet, when their swing dancing looked a lot more like mutated tap, but not as fun as that. The number still worked for me, mostly, despite the creepy masks, because it wasn't too long and resolved the separation believably - I think if Peter had tried to explain himself to Linda verbally, he would have bombed it, but there was no way she could watch that dance and be the person she was and not get it. Awwww. (For contrast, the ballet number in An American in Paris, which also recapped the story but was excruciatingly long and played no part in the narrative resolution.)
I think Follow the Fleet is my favorite of the movies so far. The Fred & Ginger movies seem to follow two primary romantic tropes. The first is more numerous and is seen in their best-known pictures: Fred plays a stalker-y but adorkably charming dancer, and Ginger is the sharp-tongued, independent/jaded/once-burned-twice-shy young woman who reluctantly falls for him, which is not my favorite trope. Fred's characters' stalkery tendencies would be much skeevier if he wasn't so charming and dorky and obviously harmless. But the way they dance together belies all the misunderstandings and social obstacles, and I do love the 'person reluctantly learns to be happy again' trope.
The other type is seen in Follow the Fleet, Roberta and Flying Down to Rio, where they are more partners-in-crime and equals. In all three movies, they are the comic couple partnering a more dramatic romance. (Well, they're barely in FDTR at all and technically not together, but *vastly* more believable and interesting than the leads and their idiotic love triangle. Anyway.) I prefer this dynamic soooo much more. In Roberta, even though Ginger's accent is completely ridiculous, I adore them teaming up to con people into things - whether it's pretending that Ginger is an impoverished Russian aristocrat, or prodding the leads into hooking up. And you get the playful banter (verbal and tap) of "Hard to Handle" AND the gorgeous ballroom of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".
In Follow the Fleet, Bake and Sherry are so hilariously mean to each other. If it wasn't so balanced, it'd being awful, but it was very tit-for-tat and playful. BTW, I'm not the only one who was seriously distracted by Ginger's legs during her audition, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. Also, I like that he sabotaged her with the best intentions. I mean, it was a dick move, but he meant well! (That's Bake in a nutshell.) So then she had totally valid reasons for both being pissed and forgiving him (after some truly evil revenge - that ended up being plot-related, bonus!).
On a really shallow note, I think Fred Astaire look better in those sailor pants than he ever did in suit trousers. Not as good as he looks in tails, but the close tailoring and athletic cut is much more suited to his figure than the high-waisted, loose-fitting trousers of 1930s suits. The suits look fine until he unbuttons his jacket, and then he looks like he's wearing pumpkin pants.
The whole Bilge/Connie relationship was so disappointing. Connie started out so spunky and clever, went out and got her whole ship salvaged on a wing and a prayer - and then got all martyred and lame after Bilge turned out to be an asshole. Bad writing. My post-movie wishlist involves 1) Bake and Sherry going off to be vaudeville (or Hollywood) stars and 2) Connie breaking it off with Bilge and then being a badass running supplies for the Navy during the war.
I think we were supposed to dislike Iris, but I just ended up disliking Bilge, and I actually felt bad for her when Bake used her to play out that scene. Well, I would have, but she's better off without Bilge. I'm sure she bounced back - maybe she went and hung out in Reno with the ladies from The Women being fabulously bitchy. *g*
The sisters Martin were darling, to my surprise. There isn't enough of that in movies, and they were very different but very supportive of each other. I can't decide which one I think is older: Connie, probably - I imagine she went to work young after their father died, and then Sherry ran off to join the vaudeville circuit and send money home.
Swing Time is widely regarded as their best film, but I've never loved it as much as it deserves. Technically, it's a fabulously well-made musical - the numbers are integrated into the story, they're varied in style and well-spaced within the film, the choreography is stunning, there are some pioneering uses of space, camera, and special effects, and so on.
On an auteur level, I think it's the best expression of Astaire's influence on film musicals, and his preference for solo and partnered dance. Most of his films up this point had at least one Busby Berkeley-like big dance number (many dancers, patterned movement, aerial shots and lots of camera movement) - the Carioca in Flying Down to Rio, the Continental in The Gay Divorcee, the Piccolino in Top Hat - or the musical sequences were diluted significantly by song-only numbers, as in Roberta. Swing Time does have the Bojangles number, but it's distinctly focused on Astaire rather than being an ensemble piece featuring Astaire and Rogers.
Bojangles has some unrelated issues, though. I think it says a great deal about the sequence that I *always* go from cringing at the blackface to getting a movie-magic thrill when the shadows start dancing without him. The dancing is fantastic and although Fred is not the greatest actor, he is an incredible dancer, and so he is able to pull off some great mimicry and style. Oh, but why the blackface, why? I'm sure Fred - who grew up in vaudeville (literally) - didn't think anything of its use and sincerely meant the dance as a tribute to Bill Robinson and his old teacher John W. Bubbles, but no. *winces*
On a character level, the movie has the most flawed and human of Fred's roles (with Lucky's gambling addiction), but oh my god, infidelity is one of my hardcore squicks and they drag the fiancee thing on and on, and then resolve it so abruptly that it's jarring. And I always want to slap the writers/Ginger's character when she reacts to a setback with Fred by going, "Oh, tragedy! Instead of having a rebound like a normal person, I'll go marry this loser who's been trailing after me the whole movie! That'll show him!", since this invariably results in mottsy shenanigans to stop the wedding. *facepalm*
(see also: Top Hat. And probably Carefree, based on the summary. The variant on this in Shall We Dance bothered me less because Linda's stupid decision to marry predates meeting Peter, has more to do with her deep unhappiness with her life and the people around her, and is resolved in a less cringe-worthy manner.)
"Pick Yourself Up", "Just the Way You Look Tonight", and "Never Gonna Dance" are absolutely my favorite numbers. Ahahaha, I've never noticed before, but Lucky is 'playing' the piano in JTWYLT, but the soundtrack music mostly drops the piano after the first verse and is all violins. And you don't even notice because the song is so lovely - just like Penny doesn't remember her hair! *g* I love that scene, and that song.
Anyway, I'm a little sad there's only three movies left, but at least I haven't seen any of these before! I'm especially curious about The Barkleys of Broadway, which they made after ten years working with other people.
What did I ever do to you? Could ya'll at *least* stop coordinating your efforts, or whatever diabolical thing you want to call this?
Sincerely,
Me
Anyway.
I watched Shall We Dance again with Lindsey today - for context, I am watching my way through all the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies in chronological order - and picked up a few more things. For instance, during the famous, adorable dance on roller skates to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", they are wearing those old-fashioned skates - you know, the ones that are just strips of metal on wheels strapped over your shoes - and Ginger is wearing them over heels. Modest heels, but seriously, how the fuck did she not break her neck? Damn, girl.
The comic singing part of that number (which, yes, was specifically written for this movie and inspired by the way Fred and Ginger actually pronounced 'neither') is great - no one raises a dubious eyebrow like Ginger Rogers, and obviously the song is a classic, but Fred's little WTF faces during the second verse with the increasingly ridiculous pronunciations ('oysters'/'ersters', really?) really captures the spirit of the song and the hilarious acknowledgment that their disagreements are completely inane and neither of them really want to call anything off. ♥
"They Can't Take That Away From Me" is a just gorgeous song, and I loved the mise-en-scene: the juxtaposition of the grungy ferry with the twinkling skyline of New York, all softened by fog and shadows. And for some reason, Peter giving the little old lady a 900% tip for the gardenia always charms me. I noticed the score a lot more this time - Slap That Bass showing up at the dinner party, the quirky little piece that plays over the dogwalking romantic montage, and so forth.
About the final number: okay, I don't know much about ballet, but that did not look like ballet - kind of like in Follow the Fleet, when their swing dancing looked a lot more like mutated tap, but not as fun as that. The number still worked for me, mostly, despite the creepy masks, because it wasn't too long and resolved the separation believably - I think if Peter had tried to explain himself to Linda verbally, he would have bombed it, but there was no way she could watch that dance and be the person she was and not get it. Awwww. (For contrast, the ballet number in An American in Paris, which also recapped the story but was excruciatingly long and played no part in the narrative resolution.)
I think Follow the Fleet is my favorite of the movies so far. The Fred & Ginger movies seem to follow two primary romantic tropes. The first is more numerous and is seen in their best-known pictures: Fred plays a stalker-y but adorkably charming dancer, and Ginger is the sharp-tongued, independent/jaded/once-burned-twice-shy young woman who reluctantly falls for him, which is not my favorite trope. Fred's characters' stalkery tendencies would be much skeevier if he wasn't so charming and dorky and obviously harmless. But the way they dance together belies all the misunderstandings and social obstacles, and I do love the 'person reluctantly learns to be happy again' trope.
The other type is seen in Follow the Fleet, Roberta and Flying Down to Rio, where they are more partners-in-crime and equals. In all three movies, they are the comic couple partnering a more dramatic romance. (Well, they're barely in FDTR at all and technically not together, but *vastly* more believable and interesting than the leads and their idiotic love triangle. Anyway.) I prefer this dynamic soooo much more. In Roberta, even though Ginger's accent is completely ridiculous, I adore them teaming up to con people into things - whether it's pretending that Ginger is an impoverished Russian aristocrat, or prodding the leads into hooking up. And you get the playful banter (verbal and tap) of "Hard to Handle" AND the gorgeous ballroom of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".
In Follow the Fleet, Bake and Sherry are so hilariously mean to each other. If it wasn't so balanced, it'd being awful, but it was very tit-for-tat and playful. BTW, I'm not the only one who was seriously distracted by Ginger's legs during her audition, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. Also, I like that he sabotaged her with the best intentions. I mean, it was a dick move, but he meant well! (That's Bake in a nutshell.) So then she had totally valid reasons for both being pissed and forgiving him (after some truly evil revenge - that ended up being plot-related, bonus!).
On a really shallow note, I think Fred Astaire look better in those sailor pants than he ever did in suit trousers. Not as good as he looks in tails, but the close tailoring and athletic cut is much more suited to his figure than the high-waisted, loose-fitting trousers of 1930s suits. The suits look fine until he unbuttons his jacket, and then he looks like he's wearing pumpkin pants.
The whole Bilge/Connie relationship was so disappointing. Connie started out so spunky and clever, went out and got her whole ship salvaged on a wing and a prayer - and then got all martyred and lame after Bilge turned out to be an asshole. Bad writing. My post-movie wishlist involves 1) Bake and Sherry going off to be vaudeville (or Hollywood) stars and 2) Connie breaking it off with Bilge and then being a badass running supplies for the Navy during the war.
I think we were supposed to dislike Iris, but I just ended up disliking Bilge, and I actually felt bad for her when Bake used her to play out that scene. Well, I would have, but she's better off without Bilge. I'm sure she bounced back - maybe she went and hung out in Reno with the ladies from The Women being fabulously bitchy. *g*
The sisters Martin were darling, to my surprise. There isn't enough of that in movies, and they were very different but very supportive of each other. I can't decide which one I think is older: Connie, probably - I imagine she went to work young after their father died, and then Sherry ran off to join the vaudeville circuit and send money home.
Swing Time is widely regarded as their best film, but I've never loved it as much as it deserves. Technically, it's a fabulously well-made musical - the numbers are integrated into the story, they're varied in style and well-spaced within the film, the choreography is stunning, there are some pioneering uses of space, camera, and special effects, and so on.
On an auteur level, I think it's the best expression of Astaire's influence on film musicals, and his preference for solo and partnered dance. Most of his films up this point had at least one Busby Berkeley-like big dance number (many dancers, patterned movement, aerial shots and lots of camera movement) - the Carioca in Flying Down to Rio, the Continental in The Gay Divorcee, the Piccolino in Top Hat - or the musical sequences were diluted significantly by song-only numbers, as in Roberta. Swing Time does have the Bojangles number, but it's distinctly focused on Astaire rather than being an ensemble piece featuring Astaire and Rogers.
Bojangles has some unrelated issues, though. I think it says a great deal about the sequence that I *always* go from cringing at the blackface to getting a movie-magic thrill when the shadows start dancing without him. The dancing is fantastic and although Fred is not the greatest actor, he is an incredible dancer, and so he is able to pull off some great mimicry and style. Oh, but why the blackface, why? I'm sure Fred - who grew up in vaudeville (literally) - didn't think anything of its use and sincerely meant the dance as a tribute to Bill Robinson and his old teacher John W. Bubbles, but no. *winces*
On a character level, the movie has the most flawed and human of Fred's roles (with Lucky's gambling addiction), but oh my god, infidelity is one of my hardcore squicks and they drag the fiancee thing on and on, and then resolve it so abruptly that it's jarring. And I always want to slap the writers/Ginger's character when she reacts to a setback with Fred by going, "Oh, tragedy! Instead of having a rebound like a normal person, I'll go marry this loser who's been trailing after me the whole movie! That'll show him!", since this invariably results in mottsy shenanigans to stop the wedding. *facepalm*
(see also: Top Hat. And probably Carefree, based on the summary. The variant on this in Shall We Dance bothered me less because Linda's stupid decision to marry predates meeting Peter, has more to do with her deep unhappiness with her life and the people around her, and is resolved in a less cringe-worthy manner.)
"Pick Yourself Up", "Just the Way You Look Tonight", and "Never Gonna Dance" are absolutely my favorite numbers. Ahahaha, I've never noticed before, but Lucky is 'playing' the piano in JTWYLT, but the soundtrack music mostly drops the piano after the first verse and is all violins. And you don't even notice because the song is so lovely - just like Penny doesn't remember her hair! *g* I love that scene, and that song.
Anyway, I'm a little sad there's only three movies left, but at least I haven't seen any of these before! I'm especially curious about The Barkleys of Broadway, which they made after ten years working with other people.