Appealing but relatively uninspired vehicle for Gene Kelly's talents which contains some moments of great charm thanks to stars Kelly and Gaynor (a silent shot of her chewing on a carrot and trying to "gab" at practically the same time is one of the best parts of the movie!). Music is good, but not Porter's best (how many times has that been said? And truthfully? Many times), and Kelly's obligatory "grand finale" feels like an afterthought. The surrealist spoof of "The Wild One" just doesn't hold up for the length or show Gaynor off to best advantage. While very good, the writing doesn't allow for likeable characters. Big mistake on Kelly's part to go in this direction, although this type of characterization is his most effective; it's just that the split "he said, she said" style of the plot's structure lets too many loose threads get in the way, and we can't see where Gaynor and Kelly's real romance is coming from until it hits us like a truck. Got to give Kelly credit for not just making another movie with a bunch of old songs mixed together, but the story should have been more centered on the characters of the lovers, and not the french ingenues.
