What a Glorious Feeling!

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2002)

"Singin' in the Rain" is #10 on AFI's list of the 100 best American films. When I first saw this placement, I was a little iffy. A musical over "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Star Wars", and "Psycho"? I was not convinced. Then i SAW the film, and I realized why it places so high. Movies are made to entertain and make the viewer feel good, and "Singin'" might do this better than any movie ever made. It's not the great songs, the dances that accompany them, or even the gloriously positive ending ("She's the star of the picture!") that makes the viewer feel so good when watching this film. There seems to be a certain something, a certain, well, happiness, to the whole film. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen definitely did what they set out to do when they made this. Filled with bright colors, unforgettable moments, and utterly touching, human characters, "Singin'" is the perfect antidote for films like "House on Haunted Hill" and "Rollerball"-films which make the viewer feel upset upon finishing them. The feel-good movie of the year in 1952, "Singin' in the Rain" is now considered the feel-good film of the century.