If you know the two previous M. Chevalier/J. MacDonald collaborations, Love Parade and One Hour with You, both directed by E. Lubitch, I suspect you will find this movie a major disappointment, as I did. There are a few good lines, but basically the script is very dull. There are two good songs, Isn't it Romantic (which is a very good song, developed over a series of scenes in a way movies no longer do that is really very striking) and Mimie. The rest of the songs are very forgettable - which is strange, given that they were written by Rodgers and Hart, who wrote some of our best musicals. MadDonald does some decent acting; Chevalier is pure corn for most of the movie. The small comedy parts are fine but not outstanding.
In short, a largely forgettable movie, save for "Isn't it Romantic," and the opening of the movie, which does a nice job of evoking the sounds of Paris as the day starts.
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I watched this movie again tonight, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it much more than I did five years ago when I wrote the above review.
This is not a Lubitch comedy, so it is not filled with clever double-entendres, though there are a few. What I found interesting this time were the camera angles and the way some of the scenes were set up. They were really very innovative, often, as when Jeanette MacDonald's real horse is set up in parallel to an iron horse along side which she is riding. There are other scenes as well in which the camera work is really very innovative and impressive.
I also found the movie funnier tonight than I gather I did five years ago. There are little touches, like the forever sewing three aunts meant to recall the three fates, that are really very clever.
So I raised my vote for the movie to 7, and would say that yes, it is worth a watch.
In short, a largely forgettable movie, save for "Isn't it Romantic," and the opening of the movie, which does a nice job of evoking the sounds of Paris as the day starts.
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I watched this movie again tonight, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it much more than I did five years ago when I wrote the above review.
This is not a Lubitch comedy, so it is not filled with clever double-entendres, though there are a few. What I found interesting this time were the camera angles and the way some of the scenes were set up. They were really very innovative, often, as when Jeanette MacDonald's real horse is set up in parallel to an iron horse along side which she is riding. There are other scenes as well in which the camera work is really very innovative and impressive.
I also found the movie funnier tonight than I gather I did five years ago. There are little touches, like the forever sewing three aunts meant to recall the three fates, that are really very clever.
So I raised my vote for the movie to 7, and would say that yes, it is worth a watch.