Keeping with our “worst movies to win the Academy Award for Best Picture” watching, we saw “Gigi” the other night. I don’t think it was a conscious choice to watch another movie from that list – it was more “let’s watch a musical”, that was what Lawrence had on hand, and “Gigi” is more of a “honorable mention” on the list of worst Oscar winners.
I am not a gay man. But I like theater, I like musicals, and I like movie musicals. And I have a passing familiarity with Lerner and Loewe. (I’ve seen “My Fair Lady” cut up for TV, and (I think) in a Houston Grand Opera production. And some years ago, I saw what I also think was a HGO production of “Brigadoon”. I remember that because one of the leads was the aerial traffic reporter for a local radio station. I wish I could remember that guy’s name. It was KPRC 950 AM in the late 1970s – early 1980s, if that helps anybody.)
As good as ”The Greatest Show On Earth” is…”Gigi” isn’t.
I’m not one of those people who can only identify with characters who share my skin color and background. But I had a lot of trouble identifying with, and being sympathetic to, the problems of a French who…pros…”courtesan” in 1900. Okay, technically Gigi isn’t a “courtesan”, she’s a “courtesan” in training. And I hope you noticed how I carefully avoided the whole “when did the 20th Century start” argument.
Gaston isn’t particularly interesting, either: he just hangs out in society, spending money, and doesn’t really seem to have anything to actually do, like a job. No wonder he’s “bored”. These days, I expect they’d diagnose him as “depressed” and put him on a SSRI.
It isn’t a bad movie. “Gigi” was made with skill and talent, they make good use of Paris as a location (to the extent that they were able to: some of the scenes were done on a Hollywood soundstage for budget reasons), and Leslie Caron is easy on the eyes. (She’s still alive: 95 years old, in case you were wondering.) The “I Remember It Well” duet between Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold was a high point of the movie for me. In terms of costumes and set design, it looks fantastic. And there are some great lines: “Such stupidity is without equal in the whole history of human relations.” (I’m going to have to use that at work.) “Gaston, my boy! Congratulations! Your first suicide! Oh, what an achievement.” (Quoth Lawrence: “Anytime you get rid of a Gabor sister, you’re doing better for yourself.”)
But the movie just never clicked for me. Frankly, the “Making Of” documentary on Lawrence’s DVD was more interesting than the movie itself.
“Is this film more interesting than a documentary of the same actors having lunch?”
–Gene Siskel
This might have been one of the weak years in the 1950s. Lawrence and I were observing that there were a lot of strong Oscar lineups in that decade, but the other competitors in 1958 were “Auntie Mame”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “The Defiant Ones”, and “Separate Tables”. I’m not sure I would call that a killer lineup.
(Compare 1959: “Ben-Hur” won, against “Anatomy of a Murder”, both swell movies. The other choices were “The Diary of Anne Frank”, “The Nun’s Story”, and “Room at the Top”. Or 1957: “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, “12 Angry Men”, “Peyton Place”, “Sayonara”, and “Witness for the Prosecution”.)
(I want to see “Peyton Place”. Everything I’ve heard about it, as well as what I’ve read of the book, points to it being complete trash. But fun trash.)
In case you were wondering, the classic SNL “Old French W—e” sketch does not appear to be on YouTube. The part of the sketch where one of the contestants says “My w—e’s dead.” is, but in a very low quality version that looks like it was recorded straight off a TV.
Try this:
https://dn720402.ca.archive.org/0/items/saturday-night-live-s-23-e-14-old-french-whore/Saturday%20Night%20Live%20S23E14%20Old%20French%20Whore.m4v
I think I liked “Gigi” more than you did, but I agree it is a weak Best Picture.
Musical-wise I think the best hands down is “My Fair Lady,” but I may be prejudiced since I’ve loved it and the source, “Pygmalion,” since we read it in the 7th grade. That was, incredibly, in the Austin Public Schools, but it was many decades ago.
My main problems with Gigi are that Maurice Chevalier’s character is basically Capitaine Baptiste du Exposition, who exists entirely to give the audience information and sing songs, and that most of the musical numbers have very static staging. Very rarely (as in “The Parisians”) do the musical numbers come to life with any imaginative dancing or staging, they’re mainly just the character staring off into the camera, or the distance, as they lightly sing their patter. It’s a marked contrast with the riot of sound, movement and color that accompany Gaston’s trips though Belle Epoque night spots. Singing in the Rain, West Side Story and even Vincente Minnelli’s own An American in Paris all blow Gigi away.
To quote Gaston, “It’s a bore.”
My recollection is that “My Fair Lady” is a pretty swell musical indeed, though it has been a while since I’ve seen it. I wouldn’t call it Lerner and Lowe’s best, but that’s just because I haven’t seen all of L&L’s musicals.
Personally, I think my favorites (based just on the cast recordings, and in one case the movie) would be “Chicago” and “Evita”. But “MFL” would probably be near the top.
Joe, I get a “500 Internal Server Error” when I click that link.
Since I replied to the other comments in this thread, I just want to note that I have nothing to add to this.
Agreed… Gigi did not deserve the award. However, Auntie Mame (the 1958 version w/ Rosalind Russell, NOT the 1974 Lucille Ball Version) is awesome!