Genre:
Musical
Release Date: 09/16/2008
Flags: Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Gene Kelly does his patented
Pal Joey bit as
Jerry Mulligan, an opportunistic American painter living in Paris' "starving artists" colony. He is discovered by wealthy
Milo Roberts (
Nina Foch), who becomes
Jerry's patroness in more ways than one. Meanwhile,
Jerry plays hookey on this setup by romancing waif-like
Lise Bouvier (
Leslie Caron) -- who, unbeknownst to him, is the object of the affections of his close friend
Henri (
Georges Guetary), a popular nightclub performer. (The film was supposed to make
Guetary into "the New
Chevalier." It didn't.) The thinnish plot is held together by the superlative production numbers and by the recycling of several vintage
George Gershwin tunes, including
"I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," and
"Our Love Is Here to Stay." Highlights include
Guetary's rendition of
"Stairway to Paradise";
Oscar Levant's fantasy of conducting and performing
Gershwin's
"Concerto in F" (
Levant also appears as every member of the orchestra); and the closing 17-minute
"American in Paris" ballet, in which
Kelly and
Caron dance before lavish backgrounds based on the works of famed French artists.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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