It's Always Fair Weather

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Steve D A complete waste of everyone's time. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/07/24 Full Review Alec B The musical numbers are the kind of goofy fun you'd expect and yet they are surrounded by a story that's more melancholy and honest than most musicals of the era. The movie balances these two elements rather well due to the strength of Comden and Green's screenplay. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/24 Full Review Matthew B Gene Kelly's most famous musical Singin' in the Rain employed satire and cynicism, and yet was a huge commercial success. Three years later Kelly and Stanley Donen co-directed another musical with a satirical edge, It's Always Fair Weather, and this time the film was a box office failure. Indeed the failure of the film was so great that it is said to have signalled the end of the traditional MGM song-and-dance musicals. Within two years Kelly had left MGM. From this point onwards, his focus would be more on directing and film production than acting. What went wrong? It may simply have been the law of diminishing returns. It's Always Fair Weather showed no signs of decline in quality control. It is one of Kelly's best movies, and has some truly amazing dance routines. However audiences soon lose interest in established performers, and in established film genres. There is always the need for something new and fresh. Perhaps the film's main problem was that the tone was just a little too downbeat for the 1950s, and seems better matched to today's sensibilities. What we have instead is a cynical take on the American Dream, and a study of post-war disillusionment. Gene Kelly and Dan Dailey were actual World War 2 veterans. This is no anti-war movie though. There is no post-war trauma in any of our three heroes. None of them have physical disabilities. Kelly and Donen are not making any message about the way war veterans were treated on their return. There are no complaints openly expressed that this is the world they had been fighting for. The film is not exploring the same territory as The Best Years of Our Lives. Still many veterans returned from fighting a war to defend American values, and discovered that their post-war life did not live up to the ideals that they had fought for during the war. It may be that the comparative bitter tone of It's Always Fair Weather affected box office sales. That is a pity. However downbeat the film may seem at first glance, this is offset by the great music of Andre Previn and the exhilaration of the dance scenes. The film contains some extraordinary feats of physical prowess. The dancers jump in, out and off a taxicab, kick their legs in the air, dance with dustbin lids attached to their feet, and perform back somersaults. The screen is alive with movement. This is especially evident in the film's greatest dance number, "I Like Myself". Kelly handles himself with grace and imagination, gliding as naturally as if he was dancing on his feet. He leaps on and off a street kerb, raises his leg over a fire hydrant, and skates freely in front of moving traffic. There is even time for a tap dance on skates. While the heyday of the musical may have gone, and this style would seem old-fashioned now, It's Always Fair Weather retains its sense of being fresh and inventive. Nowadays audiences can better enjoy both its darker and lighter elements. The film deserves to be better-known. I wrote a longer appreciation of It's Always Fair Weather on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2023/02/18/its-always-fair-weather-1955/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/25/23 Full Review red t A Classic Golden Era Musical. Solid All Around but where this really shines compared to others is the plot and theme is much more focused and has depth compared to the majority of other Kelly Musicals. The dancing is phenomenal although the songs aren't as catchy as other musicals. The acting is solid, and while this is a slower paced film overall it does a solid job rewarding that patience with great dance numbers and a charming ending. This is definitely a musical worth watching for any Kelly or Donen Fan or fan of Musicals or any other actors in this. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Not overly cynical but strangely. Fast moving, hillarious and original Betty Comden story. Michael Kidd choreography. Gene Kelly and stanley Donen fought over everything but what a memorable musical Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member A sequel of sorts to ON THE TOWN, the suffers on account of not only the comparison but also the main difference: The missing Munshin and Sinatra, a lack of continuity it tries to make up for with a convoluted and confused plot—though all it really needs (as all the other film needed, as well) is Kelly's dancing, whether on a trash can lid or on roller skates. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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