Into the Woods (2014)

into the woods

After reading my rather raving review of this Rob Marshall-directed adaptation of the Steven Sondheim musical, I was surprised to look at Letterboxd and see that so many of the people I follow hate this film.

The problem seems to stem from the fact that the film severely changes a big chunk of the second act, making it much more Disney-friendly than the stage version. I’ve never seen it live, so I guess I wasn’t bothered by any changes.

While I did seem to have enjoyed it, it is worth noting I’ve never bothered to watch it again. Take that for what you will.

The First Movie of 2025: Anything Goes (1936)

anything goes poster

For the last several years I’ve made a big deal out of the first movie I watch in the new year. In my mind that first movie sets the stage for all the movies I will watch for the rest of the year. In some ways, it feels like it sets the stage for my entire life for the next 365 days.

It has become such a big deal in my mind that I spent a good 40 minutes this morning trying to decide what movie I should watch. A Hitchcock film seemed like a good idea but I’ve got a plan for Hitchcock this year and that may spoil it. Ditto Martin Scorsese.

I could watch a new to me movie but what if I didn’t like it? Would that spoil the rest of the year for me? I could watch an old favorite but would that mean I’ll just be recycling everything this year, that I won’t experience the pleasure of new things?

It got to the point of ridiculousness (and it is a pretty ridiculous thing to begin with). My ever-patient wife sat and watched me as I scrolled through app after app looking for something. When I scrolled past Anything Goes she made a little exclamation and that was enough for me.

As soon as I started it I felt a tinge of regret. Not because the movie was immediately bad or anything, but I was worried I might not like it and I’d just ruined my year.

Yeah, I’m an idiot.

The movie is a delight.

The film is based on a Broadway musical from 1934 with a book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse and music from Cole Porter. It is where the classic standards “Anything Goes,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “You’re the Top” come from.

When I was in 9th grade my high school put on a production of the show. It might have been the first musical I ever watched. I don’t remember much about it but I do remember liking it. I’ve not seen any production since.

Made just two years after the Broadway debut this film is the first time the musical was turned into a movie, but it has been adapted several times since.

It mostly takes place on a cruise liner and consists of multiple mistaken identities. Bing Crosby plays Billy Crocker a man seeing his boss off on the cruise. He is not supposed to stay on the boat, but rather go back to the office and run things while the boss is away. But then he meets Hope Harcourt (a blonde Ida Lupino) who is beautiful and seems to be in a spot of trouble, so he stays.

He befriends a gangster who is posing as the Rev. Dr. Moon (Charles Ruggles), and this somehow causes the cops to think that Billy is the #1 most wanted gangster in America. Also on the boat is Reno Sweeney (Ethel Merman) a friend of Billy who is madly in love with him simply because he never made a pass at her.

A whole lot of silliness (and quite a bit of singing) ensues.

I was reading some contemporary reviews and they mostly panned the film which surprised me. As far as I can tell this seems to come from critics who loved the Broadway show and were upset over the changes, especially how the film used different actors than the musical. Surprisingly there were a lot of complaints about Bing Crosby. I guess his style of crooning didn’t fit this type of musical comedy. Or something.

I quite liked him. Admittedly this version of “You’re the Top” didn’t quite work, but everything else was aces.

I hope this bodes well for the rest of 2025. If not, it was still a great way to start my year in movies.

My Fair Lady (1964)

cover

My wife and I honeymooned in a little town in Ontario called Stratford. Like its namesake in England, the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford had three major theaters. They put on world-class productions. We saw several shows while we were there and had a wonderful time.

The best production was My Fair Lady. I had never seen any production of that show, not even the movie. It was magical. Even the costumes got a standing ovation.

I’ve seen the movie several times since and just love it. This past February I got to see it in the movie theater with my wife and it brought back all the feelings.

You can read my review here.

Foreign Film February: The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

young girls of rochefort poster

Jaques Demy was one of the great French directors. He was an instrumental part of the French New Wave. Early in his career, he wrote and directed two back-to-back musicals, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). They are considered essential classics. Some many months ago my wife wanted to watch The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and so we did.

I didn’t love it.

I like musicals, more or less, but they aren’t my favorite. That’s not a genre I turn to all that often. I once tried to make musicals my theme of the month and I only watched about three of them.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a type of musical that has very little dialogue. Almost everything is sung. I’m not a lyrics guy so musicals are always a little problematic in that I tend to miss plot points when they are sung. When everything is sung I get lost pretty quickly. That’s apparently even true when they sing in French and there are subtitles.

But also there weren’t any showstoppers. The music was nice but there wasn’t a single song that left me humming after it was over. There was no “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'” or “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” or whatever.

It was a perfectly fine film, but I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.

When my wife wanted to watch The Young Girls of Rochefort I was none too excited, but I relented because I love her and I enjoy watching films with her.

I liked this one a lot better. There is quite a bit of actual dialogue which allowed me to follow the story more closely. The story itself is more interesting to me. It is light and frothy and a delight. It follows two sisters (real-life siblings Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac) as they look for love in the titular coastal town of France. Little do they know their true love is closer than they think.

Much like Umbrellas, The Young Girls of Rochefort is full of bright, pastel colors, and the costumes are very 1960s and very beautiful. It feels like this one is full of real songs too. Songs you’ll leave the theater singing. It also has Gene Kelly who is always a delight.

Loads of people love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg so I probably need to revisit it at some point. I suspect knowing what I’m getting into will help me enjoy its charms more. But for now I tip my hat to The Young Girls of Rochefort and delight in it fully.

Funny Face (1957)

funny face poster

I hate to admit that it was a pop song that made me fall in love with Audrey Hepburn. It was the spring of 1996 and Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was all over the radio. One dull afternoon in the life of a college student, a friend of mine admitted that she had actually never seen the film. I sheepishly admitted the same, and we went straight out and rented it. I immediately fell madly in love with the style, class, and beauty that is Audrey Hepburn. In the many years following, I have done my best to nurture that one-sided love, and try to watch any film with Ms. Hepburn when I get the chance. Recently I sat down and watched Audrey and Fred Astaire in Funny Face.

It is a film that is notable for being a musical in which Audrey actually sings. A feat she was famously not able to duplicate in My Fair Lady (1964). It is a soft, kind sort of voice a simple boy could fall in love with, but one can see why Mr. Cukor opted for another one to sing for Eliza Doolittle.

The Gershwins have once again created some wonderful songs. Mixed with exuberance, humor, and a sweetness that no other songwriter has ever matched, George and Ira created some of the world’s greatest songs. The stand out here is the simple sweet closer, “S’Wonderful,” but “How long has this been going on?” and the title number are just lovely. Ira’s silly, unbelievable rhymes are in full order here as well. In “Bonjour Paris” he manages to rhyme the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre with Montmartre.

Being not only an Audrey Hepburn picture, but also starring Fred Astaire, there are plenty of dance routines. Only one number is what I would consider exceptional and that is a number between Hepburn and Astaire while photographing a wedding scene outside a lovely French church. The setting is beautiful (though shot in soft lighting for some reason) and the routine flows beautifully and with much charm.

The plot as it is, centers around Hepburn playing a bookish, intellectual named Jo Stockton, and a women’s magazine photographer, Dick Avery (Astaire) trying to convince Stockton to pose for him. She agrees only as a ruse to go to Paris and meet the inventor of a new philosophy, empathicalism. Of course, they fall in love. There is nothing really new or all that interesting in the story, but it is set in Paris which gives it some very beautiful backgrounds in which to tell it.

Call me a heretic, but I’ve never been much of a fan of Fred Astaire. He has a fine singing voice, and his dancing is always excellent, but there is something about him as an actor and leading man that rubs me the wrong way. He does a decent job here, but ask me who I’d prefer to see play opposite Audrey and I’d choose Bogart, Cooper, Peck, or Grant any day of the week over Astaire. (Editors Note: I no longer share this opinion with my younger self, I love Fred Astaire (Mat, March 2023).

Funny Face is a fun, harmless musical. The Gershwin tunes are a pleasure, the story is…well, fodder for the songs and dance numbers, but fair enough for what it is. But the real reason to watch the picture is the one, Audrey Hepburn. While I am embarrassed that it took a silly pop song for me to see the light around that graceful woman, I am forever grateful for that three minutes of bubblegum, for it gave me the joy that is Audrey.