There are a few lovely songs and dances here, including the instant classic "I'm Old-Fashioned". Fred and Rita are marvelous together. Her sensual, full-bodied style brings out something new in Astaire, a devil-may-care energy that's a delight to behold.
As a lover of musical comedy, I'm very tolerant of slight plots and cardboard characters, but the story here even tries MY patience. To begin with, there's too much of it. The first half is much too talky, pushing the creaky, leaden plot uphill like Sisyphus pushing his rock.
The poor excuse for a plot consists of a series of artificial misunderstandings (artificial even by musical comedy standards!), each of which could immediately be cleared up by a few words from one of the principals, who instead stand there dumb, allowing everything to go to hell. Characters vacillate between hatred and love of one another with no discernible motivation. The talented Menjou is wasted in an unfunny, one-note role. Compared to this, the Astaire/Rogers movies are models of plot construction and character motivation.
The second half of the movie picks up, with more music and dancing, though Xavier Cugat's band is a bit dull, with its fusty chorus singing in unison.
Not a favorite Astaire film, but worth seeing for the numbers and for lovely Rita, whose chemistry with Astaire, whether dancing or talking, is delightful.
As a lover of musical comedy, I'm very tolerant of slight plots and cardboard characters, but the story here even tries MY patience. To begin with, there's too much of it. The first half is much too talky, pushing the creaky, leaden plot uphill like Sisyphus pushing his rock.
The poor excuse for a plot consists of a series of artificial misunderstandings (artificial even by musical comedy standards!), each of which could immediately be cleared up by a few words from one of the principals, who instead stand there dumb, allowing everything to go to hell. Characters vacillate between hatred and love of one another with no discernible motivation. The talented Menjou is wasted in an unfunny, one-note role. Compared to this, the Astaire/Rogers movies are models of plot construction and character motivation.
The second half of the movie picks up, with more music and dancing, though Xavier Cugat's band is a bit dull, with its fusty chorus singing in unison.
Not a favorite Astaire film, but worth seeing for the numbers and for lovely Rita, whose chemistry with Astaire, whether dancing or talking, is delightful.