If you look up "jingoism" in the dictionary, there may very well be a picture of George M. Cohan next to it. The man is responsible for some of our most well known and recognizable songs expounding on the virtues of US patriotism and the American way. These songs have survived due to their catchiness and uplifting themes, so it's not just a figment of overzealousness in the audience but a real connection they make with the psyche. Yankee Doodle Dandy is pretty much an excuse, in 1942, to thread these songs into the war effort and give the US audiences a positive message about their new entry into a second world war. The fact that it's utterly devoid of drama is largely beside the point--the point is to feel uplifted and bold, like the portrait of the main character.
In this movie, George M. Cohan tells his story to none other than the President of the United States (played in back profile). According to the narrative, he's a self-made man who, as a mere performer, is an example of how anybody could rise to the level of meeting the president. He starts out a gregarious young man who becomes a prideful, but powerful, performer. He gets the girl he wants and the occasional difficulty is met with a readiness to not merely pass by but vault over the obstacle. Yankee Doodle Dandy is American mythbuilding by numbers.
Which makes this movie kind of interesting from the more detached (and, well, cynical) modern perspective. As a document of the time, it's worth looking at the same way Listen to Britain or Triumph of the Will or October is worth looking at for their respective countries. As a movie, it's starting to show its threads with age. It certainly has some good set-pieces but with very little actual conflict and actually not all that great choreography, it can become a dull and plodding entertainment after a while. If anything, it's really just refreshing to see James Cagney as something other than a dirty rat.
--PolarisDiB
In this movie, George M. Cohan tells his story to none other than the President of the United States (played in back profile). According to the narrative, he's a self-made man who, as a mere performer, is an example of how anybody could rise to the level of meeting the president. He starts out a gregarious young man who becomes a prideful, but powerful, performer. He gets the girl he wants and the occasional difficulty is met with a readiness to not merely pass by but vault over the obstacle. Yankee Doodle Dandy is American mythbuilding by numbers.
Which makes this movie kind of interesting from the more detached (and, well, cynical) modern perspective. As a document of the time, it's worth looking at the same way Listen to Britain or Triumph of the Will or October is worth looking at for their respective countries. As a movie, it's starting to show its threads with age. It certainly has some good set-pieces but with very little actual conflict and actually not all that great choreography, it can become a dull and plodding entertainment after a while. If anything, it's really just refreshing to see James Cagney as something other than a dirty rat.
--PolarisDiB