Singin' in the Rain

Everybody knows it. We've all had the song stuck in our head, and we've all been to the Universal attraction that tells us about the director's choice to use milk instead of water for the rain. I'm certainly not an exception to this. But I had never actually seen the movie until this class.

Let me just preface this by saying that I love musicals, so I may be biased in my liking of this film. However, someone who doesn't like musicals would certainly still be able to appreciate the satire of musicals in the film. And honestly, even if you don't like the songs, there's no way you can't appreciate Gene Kelly's dancing.

Singin' in the Rain is a meta-musical- it explores the transition of a movie studio from silent film to sound, all set to a musical script. It was enjoyable to watch, particularly because it was comedic in nature. The dialogue was very witty, especially amongst Don, Kathy, and Cosmo. This is important because even if the musical numbers had been removed from the film, it still would've have made for an enjoyable, albeit slightly less entertaining, film. The movie, while filling most of the stereotypes of musicals- humorous and light, with tons of dancing- has the ability to stand on its own as a normal film. This cannot be said of most musical films (I guess it can be said, depending on who's arguing it, but I digress).

The one thing that seemed the most problematic about this film however, and the thing we discussed the most in class, was the musical number Don proposes for the film (within the film)- the Broadway Melody Ballet. It is an especially long sequence that has nothing to do with the film. It does not further the plot in any way, it does not contribute to character development, and it does not even make much sense in terms of the film Don is proposing it for. All in all, the sequence feels out of place, and for those who do not like musicals, it makes the film less enjoyable.

That being said, I really, really liked it. This film is already pretty meta, and including this number just takes it to the next level of "meta". I mean, we're watching a film, about the making of a film, and then we go inside Don's head to see the making of a part of the making of a film. In this way, however loosely this can be argued, it furthers the sense of "metaness" in Singin' in the Rain.

Additionally, I really liked the music and dancing in the sequence. Not only did it go through a wide range of musical styles, it also went through a wide range of tempos and dances. I found myself getting lost in it; I forgot I was watching a movie because I was so enraptured with the musical number itself. In fact, my favorite part was when the main character and the lead female do a semi-ballet type thing. Its so well-choreographed and so beautifully shot that I don't really care that it has nothing to do with the movie itself. I'm just glad I got to see it.

Bottom line is, Singin' in the Rain is a great movie, and it knows how to poke fun at itself. Despite that however, it probably isn't good for those who don't enjoy the musical genre. This segregating aspect of it, however, has certainly not hurt its reputation over the years.