Overrated but cute

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2018)

It's a shame that Gene Kelly's most famous movie is Singin' in the Rain. This is a man who's danced with a cartoon, on roller skates, and with a trash can lid strapped to one foot, but for some reason, he's famous for splashing around in some puddles and posing on a lamppost. The same argument can be said about Donald O'Connor who got his start singing with Bing Crosby, recreated many of Buster Keaton's famous stunts, and did one of the most impressive dances in screen history where he popped balloons while tap dancing-yet he's remembered for making faces and running into a wall during "Make 'Em Laugh".
Still, as much as I've just dissed Singin' in the Rain, the movie does have it's good parts. As a kid, I didn't like this movie and actually got rid of my DVD copy, but when I grew up and went to film school, I grew a new appreciation for it. I learned that there was a time when movies were made without sound and that the adding of the element was often difficult for actors and crewmen to adjust to. Kids don't know these things, so when an entire scene is devoted to Jean Hagen's inability to change her lowlife accent into a cultured one, they don't care. When the actors learn they can't move their face away from the microphone, kids don't care or understand. When actors lip-synch and loop their own dialogue, kids are bored and wondering when they can go outside and play. But film students will definitely get a kick out of it.
Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen are silent movie stars in the 1920s, and the tongue-in-cheek salute to the silent era is very amusing. With the advent of sound, they each face challenges to keep their jobs and their adoring public. Also, Gene clashes with a hopeful starlet, Debbie Reynolds, who ends up dubbing Jean's speaking and singing voice. Interestingly enough, Debbie's singing voice was dubbed by Betty Noyes. She also wasn't nearly as marvelous a dancer as her costars, and during rehearsals, she reportedly cowered under the piano crying because it was too difficult to live up to Gene Kelly's standards. One has to wonder why she was kept on in the cast-or why she was cast in the first place-and if she showed such unprofessional behavior on the set, why she continued to have a career. In case you can't tell, I'm not a Debbie Reynolds fan; she's ruined for me almost everything she's been in.
When all's said and done, this movie is a classic and a staple in old musical viewings. You're going to want to see this one. It has cute songs, like "Moses Supposes" and "You Are My Lucky Star" and classic dance numbers. If you've seen Donald O'Connor running into a wall, Gene Kelly posing next to a lamppost, or the three leads toppling over a couch, those famous clips are from this movie.