Movie #23: Released in 1952, directed by Gene Kelley and Stanley Donen, 103 minutes. Seen it before.
LetterBoxd: 5 stars
I saw this a long time ago and was kind of meh on it; the music wasn’t my thing, and I thought it was kind of boring. But up on the big screen, and thinking “I wonder if my kids would like this” I was able to see why it’s so beloved.
First off, the charisma of Kelly and Reynolds resonated with me this time in a way that it didn’t before. The banter worked. It’s legitimately funny. They’re all doing the same dances, but Kelly makes it look more effortless and joyful.
Second, the color! So far, every movie I’ve seen has been in black and white, with three exceptions: A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes, and Singin’ in the Rain. For each of them the use of color is a positive choice, rather than a default.
- With a Matter of Life and Death, color is used as a way to distinguish the earthly and heavenly worlds
- In the Red Shoes, the shoes are, in fact, very red. And the rest of the movie is brightly lit too.
- With Singin’ in the Rain, the colors pop. Pinks and purples and bright bright yellows.
Third, the songs themselves feature very memorable set pieces. The titular rain sequence is full of joy. The acrobatics on “Make ’em laugh” are wild – especially knowing poor Donald O’Connor practically killed himself performing it. The ballet dream within a dream sequence, featuring the longest scarf in the world walks right up to parody but stays on this side. The couch gimmick.
I also appreciate that it has such an unpromising start: like a Mission Impossible film, the story was reverse engineered around songs they wanted to sing. But it basically works!
All that said – I still don’t like the music, and I do not get the appeal of tap dancing. Sorry Gene.
Why would someone think it’s one of the ten greatest movies ever made?
It’s peak movie musical. Nothing tops it for spectacle. As Mad Max: Fury Road is for action movies, Singin’ in the Rain for musicals. La La Land just makes me sad to think about.
Next up: Ugetsu