The protagonist's situation is similar to Walter Mitty's, expect that his fantasies are not waking ones, but rather, occur when he drops off to sleep, and they don't always go the way he'd have them go. The device of dream narratives shows Clair's fidelity to his surrealist roots, especially during the dream debut of the main character's "opera". I was surprised at how low other users rated this film, but I guess it's in keeping with Maltin's opinion that Clair's films after WWII were not up to his prewar standards. Ignorance is bliss, I guess: I thought it was great! Perhaps the character development is somewhat superficial, but the film is funny and fast-paced, with good production values and appealing principals.
Review of Beauties of the Night
