Rarely have I seen my wife and oldest daughter hate a film as much as they hated "Silk Stockings"! I didn't think it was that bad, but I did understand SOME of their feelings. It sure should have been a lot better!
"Silk Stockings" is a musical remake of "Ninotchka". Now that is a serious problem, as this Ernst Lubitsch film is a wonderful classic--a film that is very, very hard to top. But the film didn't even come close to the quality of the original for many reasons--though the biggest one is the music. Too often, the romance or comedy of the film grinds to a severe halt when the musical numbers intrude--and they did intrude! Few of the song and dance numbers were that good or had much to do with the film, but the tempo was even more seriously a problem. While the film is a sweet little plot--the songs are often HUGE production numbers. The fit is all wrong. And you know it's a problem when Fred Astaire is totally lost in the process! On top of all this, the characters are way too cartoony and silly to work. Overall, I see no need to see this one considering that "Ninotchka" is light-years better!
"Silk Stockings" is a musical remake of "Ninotchka". Now that is a serious problem, as this Ernst Lubitsch film is a wonderful classic--a film that is very, very hard to top. But the film didn't even come close to the quality of the original for many reasons--though the biggest one is the music. Too often, the romance or comedy of the film grinds to a severe halt when the musical numbers intrude--and they did intrude! Few of the song and dance numbers were that good or had much to do with the film, but the tempo was even more seriously a problem. While the film is a sweet little plot--the songs are often HUGE production numbers. The fit is all wrong. And you know it's a problem when Fred Astaire is totally lost in the process! On top of all this, the characters are way too cartoony and silly to work. Overall, I see no need to see this one considering that "Ninotchka" is light-years better!