Funny Face

Plot synopsis:
Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) is a fashion magazine publisher and editor, for Quality magazine, who is looking for the next big fashion trend. She wants a new look for the magazine. Maggie wants the look to be both "beautiful" and "intellectual". She and famous fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) want models who can "think as well as they look." The two brainstorm and come up with the idea to find a "sinister-looking" book store in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. They subsequently find a bookstore named "Embryo Concepts".
Maggie and Dick take over Embryo Concepts, which is being run by the shy bookshop clerk and amateur philosopher, Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn). Jo thinks the fashion and modeling industry is nonsense, saying: "it is chichi, and an unrealistic approach to self-impressions as well as economics". Maggie decides to use Jo in the first fashion shot, to give it a more intellectual look. After the first shot Maggie locks Jo out of the shop to keep her from interrupting the rest of the photo shoot.
What Jo wants more than anything else in the world is to go to Paris and attend the famous philosopher/professor Emile Flostre's (Michel Auclair) lectures about empathicalism. When Dick gets back to the darkroom, he sees something in Jo's face which is "new" and "fresh", and which would be perfect for the campaign, giving it "character", "spirit", and "intelligence". They send for Jo, pretending they want to order some books from her shop. Once she arrives, they start treating her like a doll, trying to make her over, pulling at her clothes and attempting to cut her hair. She is outraged and runs away, only to hide in the darkroom where Dick is working. When Dick mentions Paris, Jo becomes very interested in that she would get a chance to see Professor Flostre, and is finally convinced to model for the magazine. Soon, Maggie, Dick, and Jo are off to Paris to prepare for a major fashion event, shooting photos at famous landmarks from the area. During the various photo shoots, Jo and Dick develop feelings for each other and they fall in love.
One night, when Jo is getting ready for a gala, she learns that Flostre is giving a lecture at a cafe nearby. She attends, forgetting the gala. Eventually, Dick finds her and they get into an argument at the gala's opening, which results in Jo being publicly embarrassed and Maggie outraged. Jo goes to talk to Flostre at his home. Through some scheming, Maggie and Dick make it into the soiree at Flostre's home. After performing an impromptu song and dance for Flostre's disciples, they confront Jo and Flostre. This eventually leads to Dick causing Flostre to fall and knock himself out. Jo urges them to leave. When Flostre wakes up, he tries to make a pass at Jo. Shocked at the behavior of her "idol", she smashes a vase over his head and runs out.
Before the group leaves for home, there is a final fashion show. Jo and Maggie try to get in touch with Dick, who has made plans to leave Paris. Jo does the runway show and before her wedding gown finale, she looks out the window and sees the plane Dick was supposed to be on, take off. Heartbroken, she runs off the runway in tears at the conclusion of the show.
Meanwhile, Dick is at the airport. He runs into Flostre and learns that Jo bashed him on the head with a vase. Dick, realizing how much he cares, goes back to find Jo. He goes back to the runway show, only to find that Jo is nowhere to be found. Finally, after a long search, Dick finds Jo (in the wedding gown) by a little church where they shared a romantic moment during an earlier photo shoot. They embrace and kiss.

Tags: philosophical

Review:
The DVD format we watched recently seems to have been transferred with great care as the colors have a vibrant look, something that wasn't the case with the technique used during that era that made colors fade.The film owes its appeal to Audrey Hepburn, an actress not known for being a singer, or a dancer, but who had enough charm to make the movie her own.
Ms. Hepburn's costumes by Givenchy and the way she carries herself in them is one of the best assets about "Funny Face".The other surprise of the movie is Kay Thompson, who plays the magazine editor Maggie Prescott.
Ms. Thompson makes an excellent contribution to the film as the no nonsense woman who ruled what the fashions of the day should be as shown in the pages of the magazine.The songs of George Gershwin are complimented by the original music composed for the musical by Roger Edens, Adolph Deutsch and Leonard Gershe.
Astaire never is shown taking pictures of great or famous people in the film but several times he demonstrates a refinement that separates him from the rest of Kay Thompson's entourage (most of whom don't care what havoc they cause, as long as they get their jobs done).
The bookshop salesgirl Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) is accidentally found by the photograph Dick Avery (Fred Astaire), who convinces the owner of the fashion magazine Quality, the powerful Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson), that she could be the new model she wants for the magazine.
Once there, Dick falls in love for her."Funny Face" has a great cinematography, art direction, set decoration, costume design and most important, a charming and delightful Audrey Hepburn.
The second big mistake is Fred Astaire (58), thirty years old older than Audrey Hepburn (28), therefore more than twice her age, as her romantic pair.
As long as you do not take the premise or the characters or the plot too seriously, this is an enjoyable movie with an interesting pairing of Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, plus an excellent supporting performance by Kay Thompson and some good-looking settings and scenery.
Stanley Donen has the right touch in keeping things together without making the seams show too often.Hepburn is cast in a somewhat unexpected role, as a drab intellectual store clerk who gets involved with Fred Astaire's (much older) photographer character.
This is a rare bird indeed, a Hollywood musical that succeeds as parody as well as musical entertainment, featuring the best song and dance man of all time, Fred Astaire, and the Hollywood establishment darling, Audrey Hepburn, who was always magnificent despite being pampered and fawned over by the media moguls.
Like his dancing, his singing flowed naturally and freely.The story to "Funny Face" is a simple one, a musical variation on Shaw's Pigmalion which was already a hit musical "My Fair Lady," turned into another Audrey Hepburn vehicle a few years after "Funny Face." What makes this movie stand out is the spellbinding choreography by Astaire, Et.Al., Ray June's cinematography, George Gershwin music, such as the title song, the direction of Stanley Donen, and the Paris fashions by Hubert de Givenchy.
One of my favorite numbers from "Funny Face" is the hilarious yet imaginative parody of modern dance performed by Audrey Hepburn in a Paris cabaret.
This snappy musical teams an ageing Fred Astaire with the young and lively Audrey Hepburn, puts them in Paris with a lovely Gershwin score, and piles on the slush to create romantic confection that really is irresistible.Audrey is at her best here, whether singing (in her own voice) How Long Has This Been Going On?', dancing wildly around a café, or looking like a mannequin in the fabulous frocks.
This beautiful, sublime, light-hearted musical pairs the incomparable Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.
All the care in casting, production, and direction is MGM-like, thanks probably to a large degree by frequent MGM director Stanley Donen and MGM jack of all trades musical Kay Thompson.The plot is typically a piece of fluff--"drab" Audrey Hepburn (it is genetically impossible for Audrey Hepburn ever to be drab) is discovered by Fred Astaire and transformed into a high-fashion model for Kay Thompson's fashion magazine, "Quality."Although the job of fashion model goes against all her values, Hepburn signs on as the Quality Woman to get a trip to Paris where she hopes to meet the renowned philosopher Emile Flostre, who has developed the concept of empathaticalism.
Entertaining but thin musical -- Stanley Donen's take on "American in Paris."  Astaire is a bit too old to be plausibly linked with Hepburn (who we're supposed to believe is unattractive in wool dresses and glasses.
Good Gershwin songs culled from a handful of plays (including the original "Funny Face", which was a better show starring Fred and Adele Astaire), mostly inferior versions of often-done standards.
The plot-thread about the philosopher in Paris is dire, and the film laughably compares a beatnik lecture to a spiritual, but Hepburn works hard to create chemistry between she and Fred Astaire (older and less enthused) and she has some feisty, enchanting moments.
Guess which film I have seen today - no, not Funny Face again, but The Devil wears Prada, and it was impossible to me not to think at the Astaire-Hepburn movie from fifties years ago.
I haven't read yet the 'Prada' book, so I don't know if the similarities are also in the original story, and of course there are many points where the two movies are quite different, but in the whole the new film is sort of a modern version of this old masterwork..
So you've got two of the most famous, most classic film stars of ANY generation in one film--that would, of course, be Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.
Funny when it's gently skewering the fashion industry and self-righteous pseudo-intellectualism; banal in its clichéd and predictable love story; emotional when Audrey Hepburn gets to hint at the powerful emotions she can't reveal and weak in its rapturous "Oui, oui, it's gay Paree!" swoonfest over arriving in Paris.So, no, it's not one of the great classical musicals (even the chosen Gershwin songs were far from the best selections from that vast repertoire).
FUNNY FACE is notable as a colourful '50s-era music teaming the talents of two of the best-known stars of all time, Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.
In this film, whose story feels like an earlier version of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Astaire and Hepburn consummate a May-December relationship when they're brought together by chance.Hepburn stars as one of those unbelievable mousy characters - here a bookshop assistant - who's transformed into an ultra-glamorous model when she goes to Paris for a photo shoot.
Astaire is the top-of-his-game photographer, and much of the film gets by on their easy charm.Of course, there are there requisite song-and-dance numbers to enjoy, and a storyline that's never too heavy or too much.
I get the feeling that the producers decided that since they were giving us Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn (with Kay Thompson thrown in to help with the Astaire/Hepburn overdose), Paris, its fashions and locales, and Gershwin tunes, then that would be more than enough.
I'll admit there are inconsistencies in Jo Stockton's character, and having Fred Astaire at his age as the paramour for Audrey at her age is a little absurd, but the movie is such a lot of fun that you get sucked into it and plot problems et cetera tend to recede into the distance.
George and Ira Gershwin's songs are superb, I especially loved Funny Face and How Long Has This Been Going On?, and the incidental music is suitably mellow, while the story is wonderfully romantic if very simple and the script sparkles with wit.Stanley Donen's direction is credible, and the choreography fits each musical sequence very nicely, especially that of He Loves, She Loves which is beautifully filmed and Audrey Hepburn is so elegant in this scene.
8/10 Bethany Cox. Lessons in style from Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Audrey Hepburn and Richard Avedon.
For the first not-quite-half of Stanley Donen's Funny Face we are in the midst of a stylish, high-fashion fairy tale, populated by the likes of Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson, and transported along by some fine George and Ira Gershwin songs.
Another highlight is Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire's dancing duet "He Loves and She Loves".
Being a trained ballet dancer, she did the ballet sequences the best.As usual, Fred Astaire plays his role with perfect comic timing and dances like that way he always has.
With sprightly direction from Stanley Donen, a sparkling performance from Audrey Hepburn, a colorful performance from Kay Thompson, and Mr. Good Old Reliable, Fred Astaire.
I know most Audrey Hepburn fans think My Fair Lady (1964) is her best musical, but my money is on Funny Face.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment), the Astaire-Hepburn pairing is a revelation.I can only mourn the fact that Audrey didn't get more opportunity to display her singing and dancing skills on film.
The worst thing about this movie was how attracted my friends and I were to Audrey Hepburn *before* she gets "made over".The other sad thing is how Fred Astaire looks in contrast to Hepburn; he's likeable enough, but his dancing is definately better in other films, and he looks like her grandpa.
Audrey Hepburn plays a beatnik who joins up with fashion photographer Fred Astaire in order to visit her favorite philosopher in Paris.
To win her over, he says flattering things like, "That guy's about as interested in your intellect as I am!" Annoyingly, the movie takes his side, and tries to convince Audrey, not to mention the female viewers, that women should give up thinking and concentrate on looking pretty.
Funny Face (1957)I was prepared to love this movie and it let me down even though it has two fabulous leads, the classic musical dance man Fred Astaire and the new star Audrey Hepburn.
In both of these, again, director Stanley Donen (a consummate pro at this stuff) let things drag on just a minute too long, which is a long time in a fast moving movie like this.Then there is Fred Astaire, at ease and warm and really wonderful.
"I love your funny face, your sunny, funny face" sings the marvelous Fred Astaire to the lovely Audrey Hepburn in this musical comedy from 50 years back.He plays a fashion photographer named Dick Avery.She plays a shy bookshop clerk named Jo Stockton.He wants to take her out of the book store, make her a model and take her to Paris.And so it happens.Soon there is romance in the air.Stanley Donen is the director of Funny Face (1957), a movie filled with wonderful music.The wonder brothers George and Ira Gershwin are behind the music, that they made to the 1927 Broadway musical production.Fred Astaire is unbeatable with his dance moves and smooth talks.Audrey Hepburn was just what she is in this movie; an intelligent woman with incredible beauty.And she could sing too!
Together these two make an unforgettable pair- despite their 30 year age difference.It's magical to watch them singing and dancing in the dark room.I also have to mention the great work by Kay Thompson.She plays the magazine editor Maggie Prescott.It's fantastic to watch these three performing 'Bonjour Paris' in the streets of the French capital.Funny Face is a delight to your eyes and your ears.It's a delight to all your senses.A kind of movie that brings a smile to your face..
Hollywood confections don't come any sweeter than teaming a young, coltish Audrey Hepburn with an effortlessly debonair Fred Astaire in a classic Gershwin musical.
The elegantly mounted numbers provide the ideal complement to the soufflé-light plot centered on Dick Avery, a world-renowned, Richard Avedon-like fashion photographer who discovers his next model in Jo Stockton, a bookshop clerk and aspiring philosopher, in time for a major event in Paris.
Audrey Hepburn must have a special power because even though I'm not a romantic movie fan and hate musicals, she made me love Roman Holiday and Funny Face.
Especially, I liked the scene Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson and Audrey Hepburn sing "Bonjour Paris" very much.
Of course she does not sing and dance as mature as the profession musical actors, Astaire and Thompson, but her amateurism makes this movie more fresh and delightful..
Audrey Hepburn as usual has a delicious performance, an innocent and very lady-like which makes men both crazy and crazy in love.A classic movie to be watched in Valentine's day and especially if you are in Paris, it will certainly raise your mood up.
Audrey Hepburn stars in this beautiful take on the musical that tells the story of a normal girl with a funny face and a whole lot of heart.It's another film in the long list of movies that Audrey Hepburn's love interest is significantly older than her.
It's one of Audrey's best roles and a highly re-watchable film.+Audrey is having fun +Expression dance +Colorful +Set in Paris+Hepburn's gorgeous photo-shoot scene -Chemistry between Astaire and Hepburn wasn't there 8.5/10.
Even now when I view the movie I want Maggie to "skip" like my record has for many years when she sings, "who cares (if the new look has no) bust?"I recently (finally) bought a television that has closed captioning and I can't beleive how many song lyrics I had been singing wrong all these years (especially "There's Something Missing" , and "Think Pink)".Just this last week I noticed that in Fred and Audrey's dance behind the Church, they dance onto the raft cross over, dance a little more and suddenly are magically back on the original side of the water without dancing back onto the raft!
It disappoints me that for many people Funny Face will be their only encounter with Fred Astaire due to the fact that it is an Audrey Hepburn film.
I first watched Funny Face for the Hepburn factor (unfamiliar at the time with Fred Astaire) and was left unimpressed with the film.
While Hepburn does fair better in this film than Astaire, having one musical number which I quite liked, The Basal Metabolism.
Not only does she act well,but she also does an outstanding job singing and dancing with the also outstanding Fred Astaire.Plus,one of the best color movies in movie history with beautiful music to boot.An excellent movie!.
It seems she is out to find a new model with a new look and her photographer (Astaire) notices a lady that Maggie completely overlooked--cute little Jo, the girl at the bookstore (Audrey Hepburn).
Splashy colors, Paris locations, Fred Astaire's dancing, Audrey Hepburn's pixie-ish charm, Stanley Donen's direction, and George Gershwin's music should have melded into an enduring musical classic in 1957's "Funny Face." However, the talented individuals involved produced a dated, clumsy film with but a few bright moments.
Further undermining the film's credibility, the supposed pictorial output of Dick Avery, a successful fashion photographer, and Maggie Prescott, editor of "Quality" magazine, is limp at best; Avery's photos are mediocre, and Prescott's earth-shattering idea is "think pink." As always, Fred Astaire's dancing is worth watching, and, although her singing is more flat than melodic and her dancing mixed, Hepburn is always a winning charmer.
Director Donen employs some tricksy cinematography to mixed effect as he strains for modernity, but in the final analysis, like the pairing of the old Astaire with the young Hepburn, the marriage of traditional Hollywood musical characteristics with modern film-making ideas just clashes and doesn't come off..
FUNNY FACE is a charming and breezy musical starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Kay Thompson.
Too much gauze.Aside from these problems, the rest of the film is great, even with the badly cast Fred Astaire playing Audrey's love interest.
Paris has never looked better, in colorful Technicolor.For fans of musicals and Audrey, FUNNY FACE is a definite must see..
Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and music by the Gershwins-what more can you ask for?.
Good, but not great, it has audrey Hepburn *sigh*, Fred Astaire and some wonderful songs by the Gershwins.
I have no illusions about my looks - I think my face looks funny."Bookshop assistant and amateur philosopher Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) gets noticed by fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) and is offered to be the new covergirl of Quality magazine, owned by Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson).
Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Kay Thompson are all fabulous and perfectly cast.
But even those two great stars can't make the film enjoyable.Astaire plays fashion photographer Dick Avery, Hepburn his reluctant model Jo. Jo is a shy, bookish, almost drab Greenwich Village bookstore clerk.
Astaire is a great song and dance man and in this film Hepburn gets to show off some vocal chops and smooth moves as well.
There is a stage musical entitled "Funny Face", written by George and Ira Gershwin in 1927, but it has a totally different plot to that of the film, although several of its songs are included.
Fluffy, to be sure, but also colorful, well-written, and a great showcase for the endless charms of Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.
I actually stumbled across this and wondered how it was that I had never seen a film with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire ...
Fred Astaire plays fashion photographer Dick Avery who stumbles upon book shop assistant Jo Stockton {Audrey Hepburn} and proceeds to turn her into a beautiful top of the range Paris model.The End..............well not quite!
of course it starred Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn; but they and the lovely color cinematography were far from being this feature's only first-class assets.
The film's choreography is by Astaire, and the songs such as "Funny face" and "Think Pink" are a delight.
Funny Face was based on an old Broadway revue, but had a bright new 50's story attached to it to fit the large talents of Fred Astaire & Audrey Hepburn.
but I was expecting more.I quite like musicals and when I heard that this one had Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in it I thought it would be really good.The story is OK...