the ultimate chick flick?

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2008)

So what can you say about 'Gone With The Wind' that hasn't blah blah blah... I don't know for certain, but I'll try. How about it's the grandmama (as opposed to granddaddy) of all chick flicks? I think it is. I watched it for the first time in years the other night and although it's still terribly familiar, I was able to pick up on some things with a fresh perspective. I've never understood why Scarlett O'Hara is considered in some circles to be an 'admirable' character. Maybe 'enviable' because of her gorgeous appearance, which is how most of the other females in the film seem to feel about her. But she's spoiled rotten, enjoys being spoiled rotten, and apparently her sole ambition in life is to go on being spoiled rotten. The admirable things she does at various points in the movie- shooting a marauding soldier, delivering a baby- she only does because she absolutely has to, and she hates having to do them. Or, to put it another way, Scarlett only does them because she can't be bothered with the alternative. Make no mistake, she is a fascinating character and Vivien Leigh is cast to perfection as her, but it's frightening to think a couple of generations of girls might have considered her a role model of sorts. There is an intrinsic dopiness to 'Gone With The Wind' that all the wonderful sets and beautiful costumes can't conceal. In fact, sometimes those costumes seem to be more what the film's about than the story itself. The film is a Selznick Production, but it has the look and feel of a top-shelf MGM flick. And as with every major MGM production of the time, there has to be an overriding theme, a heavy-handed moral to be taken from the film, and in this case, it is that Scarlett learns to love the land as her father did. Which she does. But nobody buys it, in fact her final words are barely remembered. Most people think, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" is the last line in the movie. Just like most people remember the green dress above everything else. There are some undeniably powerful scenes in 'Gone With The Wind' (at over three and a half hours, there had better be) and some funny ones, and Clark Gable is perfect too as Rhett Butler, rogue, reprobate, and all-around Southern Cavalier. To me, one frustrating aspect of his character, or I should say everyone's reaction to his character, is that he is forever speaking blunt truths and common sense and nobody seems to hear him. Certainly Scarlett doesn't. Likewise, his warnings early on about the South's chances in the upcoming Civil War go unheeded. One wonders why he hangs around with people who treat him like a cad, a liar, a man with no honor when he's actually the most honorable person in the movie, with the possible exception of Melanie Hamilton. Now there's a ingeniously thought out character- Melanie. She provides poetic justice for Scarlett. Nothing Scarlett says can rile her; in fact she takes every hateful, venomous uttering from Scarlett and turns it around into something wonderful. It is almost a running gag that the meaner Scarlett is to Melanie, the more forgiving and admiring Melanie becomes of Scarlett. The scenes of death and destruction in Atlanta are memorable, including the famous long shot of the dead and wounded soldiers lying in the main street. The torturous soap opera that makes up the second half of the film will see male viewers rapidly losing interest, as it begins to resemble a 1930's version of 'Dynasty.' Even Rhett Butler's character lacks purpose for a long stretch, and his increasingly pointless upbraiding of Scarlett and her shortcomings becomes tiresome. She will never change and he begins to look foolish in thinking anything he says will make a difference.
There obviously was no scrimping on any aspect of production for 'Gone With The Wind,' and the film succeeds in dazzling the eye throughout, whether it be a soiree at the plantation or Atlanta being set afire. Too many of the images have a 'glamor shot' feel to them, such as an early one where Scarlett's father runs after her in front of the mansion; it fairly screams "look at her dress!" There is a constant tug-of-war between such scenes and meatier aspects of the story. Again, given the film's great length, there is plenty of room for both, 'something for everyone' as the saying goes and it certainly is a classic of its kind. Still, it says something about both 'Gone With The Wind' and its loyal audience over the years that its most fondly recalled image is of Scarlett wearing a green gown made from the living room drapes.