Delayed Reaction: An American in Paris

Premise: There's this American who lives in Paris...and, music and romance happen.

 

I mistakenly have said that I only had a single Best Picture winner left to see. I'm not sure how, but I miscounted by two. I still had this, A Man For All Seasons, and Around the World in 80 Days left. That means I have a small project now, I guess.

 

I have an intense watchlist spreadsheet for all the movies I plan to see. I put a lot of factors into the list and weight the movies based on recommendation (from friends and podcasts), awards, box office, best of lists, genres, cast, and crew. An American in Paris is one of the two or three highest rated from my list of about 3000 (at the moment). That makes a lot of sense. It was a hit with the Oscars and other awards-givers. Director Vincente Minnelli and star Gene Kelly are big names. It was a hit at the box office and is among the best of an era of film in a genre.

 

Here's what I've learned though. The movies that fit that description tend to underwhelm me. It turns out being a National Board of Review top ten movie isn't that useful as an indicator of what would hold my interest best. It's why I attempt to weight friend or podcast recommendations higher. I like to keep these movies on the list as an academic exercise though. I like the historical context of what was popular or well-regarded in a specific era. In that sense, I got what I needed out of An American in Paris.

 

It's a perfectly fine movie. How could I not enjoy that much Gene Kelly singing and dancing? That closing ballet number is pretty breathtaking in scope. I get the feeling it inspired a lot of the closing to La La Land. It's a good movie. I just don't think I'd call An American in Paris an undeniable great like I would West Side Story.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend