Gene Kelly And George Gershwin's Music Shine In The Terrific Musical An American In Paris

Whenever we talk about modern actors, us film critics tend to have a habit of comparing newer movie stars to prolific actors of the past. I'm not exempting myself from this trend for sure, I totally did that with Michael Fassbender in my Steve Jobs review. It's not an inherently bad thing, but I do have to ponder if this tactic (which, again, I'm as guilty of as anyone else) when used so ubiquitously does tend to damper newer movie starts chances to establish their own identity while also reducing the uniqueness of the legendary older actors they're being compared to.

Plus, it must be said, true blue movie stars can't quite be replicated so easily. There's a whole gaggle of vintage movie stars whose talents and virtues cannot be easily replicated and have no modern day equivalent. A prime example of this is Gene Kelly, a song-and-dance man from the mid-20th century whose skills in those two fields were unparalleled, particularly in the area of dancing. No one could bring such vivid, memorable and energetic movements to the silver screen like o'l Gene Kelly back then and certainly not even today. Gene Kelly was one of a kid and those singular talents that put him in a class of his own most certainly get flaunted in the Vincente Minnelli directed 1951 musical classic An American In Paris.

In order to get his artistic spirit going, Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) has planted himself in Paris, France for many years, spending his time mostly painting, interacting with his buddies like pianist Adam Cook (Oscar Levant) and teaching the local French children English and some sweet dance moves. His paintings catch the eye of wealthy lady Milo Roberts (Nina Fonch) and agrees to help get him and his artwork greater recognition, a move that he appreciates, though her romantic affections he's less grateful for, especially once a young lady by the name of Lisa Bouvier (Leslie Caron) enters his life.

Though Lisa's not so keen on Jerry at first (the weakest part of the movie is Jerry's determination to get Lisa to express feelings for him despite her repeatedly saying, without hesitation, that she wants him to leave her alone), the two do fall in love, even as she's seeing a Frenchman who wants to take her away from Jerry and to America. The duo's individual love triangles provide plenty of fodder for elaborate song and dance sequences (the former of which come from the works of George Gershwin), which are an absolute joy to watch, All of the individual tunes have some memorable and fun to sing lyrics that offer plenty of breaks for extended dance numbers that are equally high in quality.

Some of Gene Kelly's moves in the dancing portions of the movie are truly extraordinary, particularly I Got Rhythm, a tune he sings to the local French children that have him doing all kinds of elaborate dance move in the span of only a few elongated takes. How is he able to keep up his energy for such extended shots, I'll never know, but thank God he does because it results in some truly riveting musical sequences. These songs make a nice backbone for the romantic portion of the movie, which, after that aforementioned bumpy start with Jerry being too insistent towards Lisa's obvious disinterest, soon turns into the kind of super sweet infatuation these kind of sincere and charming musicals were made for.

So crucial to An American In Paris are the art of singing and dancing that it's final 17 or minutes are devoted to an extended ballet sequence that utilizes not only Gene Kelly's talents as a dancer but also a number of heavily stylized sets that set themselves heavily apart from anything else we've seen in the movie prior. In between all these wonderful tunes are some thoughtfully made camerawork (I love the shot of Jerry first noticing Lisa in a crowded eating establishment, the way the camera's positioned allows for Lisa to stand out amidst a horde of people) and loads of fun dialogue that Gene Kelly aces in his delivery. Man, that guy really was a one of a kind treasure and it sure is a good thing he got superb movies like An American In Paris to star in that provided a splendid showcase for his talents.