Fanny Brice may be an enigma to people in the 21st century, but this film gives us some glimpses of why she was considered so talented.
Be Yourself! has a pretty standard plot and was not in itself an engrossing film. I did find it amusing to find a stirring pre-code line during the first boxing sequence. As Robert Armstrong and his foe are putting practically no spirit into their fight, the crowd starts booing and cat-calling. No punches are landing! After a particularly soft pseudo-clinch, one patron yells "turn out the lights, these boys want to be alone!".
We can see some glimpses of Brice's singing, comedy, and acting talent. However, it does seem her comedic talent would only be favoured by audiences of her day. As for her acting, I did find her playfully coy in how she woos Robert Armstrong in the early scenes. Overall, however, it appears that she would be much more at home on stage or in vaudeville. She is almost 40 and not a beauty in this film, but it would be interesting to see her perform in her prime at the Ziegfeld Follies.
Armstrong does fine carrying his character, the boxing chump. But I was really more surprised at how well the make up people altered his nose. It really did look like he was in need of a nose-job....which he got during the story, to impress his new girlfriend.
This film is really more of a curiosity than anything substantive, but it is a rare opportunity to glimpse into the past and see what the talent of Fanny Brice was like.
Be Yourself! has a pretty standard plot and was not in itself an engrossing film. I did find it amusing to find a stirring pre-code line during the first boxing sequence. As Robert Armstrong and his foe are putting practically no spirit into their fight, the crowd starts booing and cat-calling. No punches are landing! After a particularly soft pseudo-clinch, one patron yells "turn out the lights, these boys want to be alone!".
We can see some glimpses of Brice's singing, comedy, and acting talent. However, it does seem her comedic talent would only be favoured by audiences of her day. As for her acting, I did find her playfully coy in how she woos Robert Armstrong in the early scenes. Overall, however, it appears that she would be much more at home on stage or in vaudeville. She is almost 40 and not a beauty in this film, but it would be interesting to see her perform in her prime at the Ziegfeld Follies.
Armstrong does fine carrying his character, the boxing chump. But I was really more surprised at how well the make up people altered his nose. It really did look like he was in need of a nose-job....which he got during the story, to impress his new girlfriend.
This film is really more of a curiosity than anything substantive, but it is a rare opportunity to glimpse into the past and see what the talent of Fanny Brice was like.