An American in Paris (1951)

“Back home everyone said I didn’t have any talent. They might be saying the same thing over here but it sounds better in French.” – Jerry Mulligen

Number of Times Seen –  1 (24 Dec 2013)

Brief Synopsis – Three friends living in Paris try to find themselves and two of them end up falling in love with the same girl.

My Take on it – I never saw this movie before and I was pretty bored throughout.  The plot is so thin, in certain scenes it is completely nonexistent.

This movie tries to stay afloat just by the amazing music of George Gershwin which is so memorable and recognizable 60+ years later and in that area it does succeed.

This movie was able to win 6 Oscars including Best Picture which is surprising because it’s biggest competitors were A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (which was itself able to garner 4 of 12 Oscars) and A Place in the Sun (6 of 9 Oscars), so I’m really not sure how this movie won.

I guess I can add it to my list of Undeserving Best Picture winners which features two other musicals [Chicago (2002) and Gigi (1958)]

The 6 Oscars that this movie won were : Best Picture, Writing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design and Music.

It lost Best Director and Film Editor.

I like Gene Kelly much better in Singin in the Rain (1952) and Inherit the Wind (1960)

Bottom Line – Very mediocre movie since it has a very thin plot and just tries to get by with music from Gershwin.

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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