The storyline is flyweight here, even by musical comedy standards. The songs vary; to tell the truth, this is not a soundtrack I would buy. Some have clever lyrics, some are pure hokum. The female chorus backing many songs is of the horrid 1940's harmonized variety, and it sounds like a soap commercial. It's a pity that so many otherwise great recordings from the era were desecrated by such syrupy over-produced warbling.
But the dancing is excellent for the most part. The sets are bright and bold and imaginative, though not awe-inspiring. It's a bit jarring to see a 49-year-old Astaire paired with a 26-year-old Garland (even if she is already starting to look a bit ravaged), and their romance is never plausible. But they both tackled their roles with a lot of gusto and appeared to be enjoying themselves.
One really dazzling moment is when Ann Miller (who was never more alluring than in this movie) puts on her big dance routine and spins around so fast, and so many times, that it strains credulity that she didn't simply topple over and pass out. Rather odd that the single most striking bit of dancing (on one of the movie's most extravagant sets) came from her rather than the leads.
The Easter "parade" at the start of the movie is a real gem, a great example of 1940's Hollywood going completely over the top. The sequel at the end of the movie is curiously pale in comparison, even if it does feature Astaire wearing a silk top hat with a lavender silk bow. (One of the unresolved issues with the screenplay is the contrast between exotic Ann Miller and "plain" Judy Garland.)
But the movie's high point for me was the number featuring Astaire and Garland dressed as tramps. The lovable tramp schtick can result in dreary, tedious cliché ala Red Skelton, but it's carried off with great verve in this case and is a real treat to watch.
But the dancing is excellent for the most part. The sets are bright and bold and imaginative, though not awe-inspiring. It's a bit jarring to see a 49-year-old Astaire paired with a 26-year-old Garland (even if she is already starting to look a bit ravaged), and their romance is never plausible. But they both tackled their roles with a lot of gusto and appeared to be enjoying themselves.
One really dazzling moment is when Ann Miller (who was never more alluring than in this movie) puts on her big dance routine and spins around so fast, and so many times, that it strains credulity that she didn't simply topple over and pass out. Rather odd that the single most striking bit of dancing (on one of the movie's most extravagant sets) came from her rather than the leads.
The Easter "parade" at the start of the movie is a real gem, a great example of 1940's Hollywood going completely over the top. The sequel at the end of the movie is curiously pale in comparison, even if it does feature Astaire wearing a silk top hat with a lavender silk bow. (One of the unresolved issues with the screenplay is the contrast between exotic Ann Miller and "plain" Judy Garland.)
But the movie's high point for me was the number featuring Astaire and Garland dressed as tramps. The lovable tramp schtick can result in dreary, tedious cliché ala Red Skelton, but it's carried off with great verve in this case and is a real treat to watch.