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An American in Paris (1951)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 8/25

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8/25: If the Academy had the foresight that Singin' in the Rain was going to come out the following year, An American in Paris wouldn't gotten a boatload of Oscars including Best Picture (over A Streetcar Named Desire!).

It's not even a good movie to begin with. What plot? There isn't any except for this: creepy guy turns down an older woman for a teenager. Jerry Mulligan's paintings are considered to be masterful enough for a gallery showing? Ha! He should give it up and focus solely on dancing. For a proverbial starving artist, how does he have the time and the money to keep himself physically shape?

Leslie Carron isn't attractive by any means due to her weird overbite. The copious makeup she has on can't hide that fact. Gene Kelly going head over heels at the sight of her is never believable for a second. As a result, there's no chemistry. It would've made the biggest difference in the film if the opposite happened. The secondary cast doesn't help, either, with Oscar Levant as Adam Cook being the most pointless character.

Yet I agree that Leslie Carron can dance, and she's able to keep up with Gene Kelly quite well which is something that Debbie Reynolds couldn't do in Singin' in the Rain. The final 17-minute ballet dance is actually the, if totally random, highlight, ultimately saving An American in Paris. Overall, a lot of credit has to go to George Gershwin for his music with extras supplied by Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin.

I'm fine with the two Oscars received for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. It's still a nice-looking movie although none of it was shot on location in Paris but on a soundstage in Hollywood. The Academy giving Gene Kelly a Special Honorary Oscar for "his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film" was a smart move although it would've made more sense after the release of Singin' in the Rain.

All in all, Singin' in the Rain is timeless while An American in Paris is weak.