Gigi

Starring: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac, Isabel Jeans
Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
1958

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A rich man (Louis Jourdan) and a courtesan-in-training (Leslie Caron) becomes friends, but a potential spark between them could draw them closer together- or apart forever.

Review:

Tim: I really tried to like Gigi. It's impressive tha the film swept the Academy Awards for which it was nominated, winning an unbelievable 9, setting the record for most-all-time at the time it won (the number has since been eclipsed). The film is a big musical production, and seems like it would be very interesting. Unfortunately, I felt like Gaston while watching this movie- everything was a dreadful bore. I really tried to convince myself that this was a good movie, but in the end, I simply could not.

The film is pretty simple- a rich man and his friend, a potential courtesan spend time together. Eventually, he decides he likes her, and this complicates matters. Honestly, it all seems so simple, and yet the film comes in just under two hours in length. Not a whole lot actually happens in the movie. I'm not suggesting it needed to be action-packed, but I would have liked to have seen a little more forward momentum. The movie feels like it moves in circles, and only towards the end do you look back and realize you've been making nearly imperceptible progress. I suppose the story is decent, and it was a bit controversial during the time (the main female is a courtesan, after all). I just did not find the story engaging in the least.

I actually found most of the characters blase as well. Leslie Caron did very litle for me as the titular Gigi. She gives an average performance, and it was disappointing to hear her singing was dubbed. The one bit of credit I will give her is that she does a pretty good job of showing the transformation her character goes through from the beginning of the film to the end. That was impressive.

Louis Jourdan gives one of the better performances of the film as Gaston, although I found his constant boredom tiresome. There's so much to enjoy and be excited about in life, and he just came across as a whiner. I understand that boredom can come when you "have it all", but it felt a bit obnoxious to me. The real feat is that Jourdan actually makes this character interesting. For the most part, he did a good job. I did like Maurice Chevalier quite a bit. He shined in his scenes breaking the fourth wall. I'm trying to look past his opening number, where he sings about how wonderful little girls are. I'm sure it was harmless in the 50s, but it just comes across as very creepy today.

I was a bit disappointed in the music as well. I know that's probably crazy because the film received a great deal of acclaim for it, but there were very few songs that felt like instant classics to me. I liked "I Remember It Well" and a few others, but none really impressed me. I thought the songs were average at best. I know Lerner and Loewe fans will likely hate me for that, but I just didn't care for them all that much.

I never really felt like part of the story, either. The movie certainly looks amazing with its stark colors, costumes, and sets, but it felt like it lacked heart to me. I never really identified with any of the characters or felt like their lives or dreams were very important to me. I didn't really care whether Gaston and Gigi got together in the end or not. That is a bit of a failure on the movie's part.

I do acknowledge that maybe I'm crazy, but I just felt like Gigi is a completely overrated film. Let's look at its nine Academy Awards. Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design are all slam dunks that it absolutely deserved to win. I can see Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. Neither surprises me. Overlooking my personal disappointment with the music, it's not surprising that it won Best Original Song and Best Score. The ones that really surprise me are Best Director for Vincente Minnelli, and Best Picture. I suppose Minnelli did a good job of creating a visual spectacle here, but I'm still a bit shocked this film won Best Picture. 1958 might not have been an all-time great year at the movies, but I personally believe there were better films released than this.

While I didn't hate Gigli, I still felt like it was a bit of a disappointing choice for Best Picture. However, the story is a bit of a timeless one, and the movie is certainly beautiful to look at. The colors and costumes are impressive, and the music isn't terrible. This is a decent movie, but one that I believe is far too highly praised.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Oliver!