It’s Always Fair Weather
Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly
Written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
1955/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Ted Riley: Look lady, if you’ll excuse, you don’t have to hang around with me all evening. I wish I didn’t have to hang around with myself.[/box]
I could not get too excited about this musical. On the other hand, it may be the only place where you can watch Gene Kelly dance on roller skates!
Three GI buddies – Ted (Kelly), Doug (Dan Dailey), and Angie (Michael Kidd) – are celebrating their discharge from wartime service at a New York vow. At just this time Ted opens a Dear John letter announcing his fiancee’s wedding. The three vow to have a reunion on the same date at this bar. They seal the deal by wagering on it with the bartender.
The day arrives and the three actually keep the date and, after some misteps, meet up. They are all now very different people. Ted is a shady fight promoter and playbody; Dan is an advertising executive in a troubled marriage; and Angie has followed his passion for fine dining to a hamburger joint business. Ted and Dan in particular are unhappy with their lives.
The boys run into beautiful Jackie Leighton (Cyd Charisse), the no-nonsense program director of a “This Is Your Life” type TV show that sells soap. Ted starts trying to pick up Jackie. After initially rebuffing his advances, she decides to play along after she decides the trio would make great surprise guests for the show.
The music didn’t grab me and is probably what failed to make the film work very well for me. There’s nothing exactly wrong with it though. I was very tired when I watched it.
It’s Always Fair Weather was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Writing, Story and Screenplay and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
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