Oct. 21, 2002 - 4:52 pm
i think i've decided that only musicals that were made in the late 50s and on tend to be annoying. musicals before that time are actually pretty cool if you can get into them. i decided since Top Hat (1935) was decent that i should go on and see Swing Time. Swing Time turned out to actually be much better than Top Hat. and Ginger Rogers is actually more attractive than she was in Top Hat if you can believe that. amazing girl.
a couple of the songs in this film are sort of second rate, but overall it's a very funny film with lots of great characters. and Fred Astaire's acting is much better. amazing dance numbers of course and i love the Bojangles number. the opening of it is the best where Fred Astaire has the huge feet that the dancers spread apart and then he has the huge huge legs that trail back through the shot to him sitting in the chair (see it and be amazed).
the story is that Fred Astaire is supposed to go to New York in order to earn his fortune quickly so he can come back and marry a girl. instead he promptly meets Ginger Rogers and they spend their time trying to convince themselves that they aren't in love with each other and at the same time trying to make it big with a dancing partnership on the stage.
the supporting cast for this film is just great. three really hilarous characters. there's Lucky's (Astaire's) Pop who always seems a little slow and goofy, but can pull a card trick like nobody's business. then there's Penny's (Rogers') older friend Mable who has a snyde remark for just about everyone, but has a soft heart when it comes to love. and the foreign bandleader who's in love with Penny is quite funny as well.
i have to give this one an 8/10 because it has some really worthwhile things in it that we all should see. not the least of which is the amazing Ginger Rogers. damn.