The Rashomon of musical romantic comedies, Les Girls tells the same story three times, under oath, but each take is so self-serving, you can't believe any of them, and while the final reveal is cute, it doesn't really resolve things for the audience. What probably bugs me more than it ought to is that there's no reconciling the various testimonies and more importantly certain people's reactions to them. What bothers me just about right though is the dated gender politics, which ultimately seems to say men should manipulate women for their own good. At the same time, the three ladies of the piece are so lively compared to the men (even Gene Kelly who's a bit of a drip in this) that they at least get to put their boys' feet to the coals about it. As a musical, it finds ways to change the tone of each version - romantic and breathless in the first (with a fancy rope dance in there as well), silly in the second (though I could do with less drunken opera), and more dancey in the third. Some good numbers, but not among Kelly's most memorable. Les Girls is perfectly watchable, even amusing, but it's not without its frustrations.
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Siskoid
The Rashomon of musical romantic comedies, Les Girls tells the same story three times, under oath, but each take is so self-serving, you can't believe any of them, and while the final reveal is cute, it doesn't really resolve things for the audience. What probably bugs me more than it ought to is that there's no reconciling the various testimonies and more importantly certain people's reactions to them. What bothers me just about right though is the dated gender politics, which ultimately seems to say men should manipulate women for their own good. At the same time, the three ladies of the piece are so lively compared to the men (even Gene Kelly who's a bit of a drip in this) that they at least get to put their boys' feet to the coals about it. As a musical, it finds ways to change the tone of each version - romantic and breathless in the first (with a fancy rope dance in there as well), silly in the second (though I could do with less drunken opera), and more dancey in the third. Some good numbers, but not among Kelly's most memorable. Les Girls is perfectly watchable, even amusing, but it's not without its frustrations.everyonewantstolaugh
Not the best for Gene Kelly, but it was cute and entertaining!MMDan
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