My Fair Lady

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett
Directed by: George Cukor
Rating: G
Genre: Drama, Musical
1964

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A phonetics professor (Rex Harrison) decides to transform a simple flower girl (Audrey Hepburn) into a classy, aristocratic lady.

Review:

Tim: My Fair Lady is based on a Broadway play, which was based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion", which drew on ancient Greek mythology. This is an interest pedigree, and the strong source material shows in this film. This is a very good movie. However, I also want to mention that I'm not a huge fan of Broadway plays being adapted to the big screen, especially when they cast stage actors and then receive all kinds of accolades. I'm sure the transition from stage to screen isn't easy, but it feels a little bit like cheating to me.

My Fair Lady falls into this realm, as Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway both originated their roles on the stage. While they are very good in the film, that is to be expected, as they've played these parts hundreds of times before. Harrison won an Academy Award for his performance, and Holloway was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. This acclaim felt just a bit out of place to me. While they are very entertaining and give strong performances, it's expected that they should. On a side note, Gladys Cooper received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The only main cast member left out was Audrey Hepburn. I thought Hepburn did a very good job. I've always been a big fan of her, and I thought she was strong in the role of Eliza Doolittle. I'm disappointed she didn't at least get a nomination, as she was walking into this role for the first time. I understand that the controversy with not casting Julie Andrews (she played the part on Broadway) and the dubbing of Hepburn's singing were probably two factors that sunk her chance at a nomination. Still, Hepburn was good here.

I will say that, as is common with musicals of this time, the movie is very long. It clocks in at nearly 3 hours, which is just a bit too long. The songs obviously take up a lot of time. I thought the songs were fine, but there were very few terrific ones. When you compare the songs here to The Sound of Music (which won Best Picture a year later), there's really no comparison. The music here is decent, but not one of the strongest aspects of the movie.

The story is interesting, and director George Cukor does a good job of moving the action along. Not a whole lot happens in the film, but it only rarely feels like it's dragging. There's always forward momentum or another song starting, so it holds the audience's interest. The movie really feels like you're right in the middle of a stage production, but simultaneously in the real world. That is one of the strongest aspects of the film- it pays homage to the story's stage roots, but creates a distinct atmosphere at the same time.

My Fair Lady is probably not one of my favorite musicals, but I acknowledge the fantastic job of putting this film together. The movie won 8 Academy Awards, in addition to Harrison's Best Actor, we have Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Picture. That's impressive no matter what era you're in. This is a good movie and a great example of translating a stage production to the big screen. It's an entertaining movie, and I enjoyed it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Sound of Music, Roman Holiday