Yar, you be here: Funny Face > Customer Reviews

Funny Face Customer Reviews (13 - 15 of 33 Reviews)

Three and a half stars-this Funny Face is still high hat!
The editorial review for this movie states that it was ..."an unproduced play".
This is very misleading.
If memory serves this movie was based on what was to be a Broadway play originally entitled "Wedding Day" but MGM came a calling and bought the rights before it ever reached the stage.When MGM had second thoughts it got passed on to Paramount where they finally turned it into the movie we now have.
However Fred and his wonderful and talented sister Adele first introduced Funny Face(the PLAY-similar score but totally different plot) to the world back in 1927.It hit Broadway and had an extensive and fabulously long run into mid 1928.From there Fred and Adele took it to the London stage and repeated its' wild success there well into 1929.
Upon its' arrival on the screen in 1957 Paramount lifted four songs from the original 1927 George and Ira Gershwin songbook and added two more by Leonard Gershe and Roger Edens.
It is certainly a movie influenced by its' times with its' central theme based around the late 50s coffee house/beatnik/philosophic phenom of the day.These were the days of Sartre,Kerouac,Ginsberg and cool jazz.
Director Stanley Donen almost paints this film with his heavy use of colouring from beginning to end.
Audrey Hepburn was also a kind of phenom of her own during this period.One of the most popular actresses of the day and one of the most emulated from her hair style and clothing to her petite figure.She gives a pleasing performance and is quite good overall and the director gives her many a camera-loving close up.
However her co-star is the real rock and foundation of this film-the inimitable Mr.Fred Astaire.
His first dance number is 'Funny Face' with Audrey in of all places a dark room (he could dance on top of a garbage dump and make it seem like a cloud!).But you soon forget where they are as Fred takes the movie to a different and wonderous level.As in any Astaire routine he speaks volumes without a single word telling his partner and us what it is exactly he's trying to say.And through it all one word says more about him than any other....class!!To say he was without peer is absolutely no exaggeration whatsoever.I never will cease to marvel at his virtuosity and style.
His next number is a solo effort "Let's Kiss and Makeup".Watch for his tossing of an umbrella into a stand many feet away(no trick photgraphy either!).
Both Fred and Audrey are ably backed by the irrepressable Kay Thompson.This was a good part for Kay because there was nothing subtle in Kays acting or vocals as she played everything "big".Kay was quite the club maven and was well known among other things as having the Williams Brothers as part of her act at one period.When they broke up one of the brothers,young Andy, went on to have more than a little success as a solo singer.
All in all this is good movie musical and a feather in the cap for all concerned.It's not one of Fred or Audreys' best films but it still certainly manages to entertain and hit the mark today in both the music and the dance routines.

A WONDERFUL MUSICAL IN DIRE NEED OF RESTORATION.
My third favorite musical of all time following WEST SIDE STORY and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. And why shouldn't it be, it's directed by SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's Stanley Donen. It's got Audrey Hepburn, the greatest movie star of all time. Unlike MY FAIR LADY, Audrey actually gets to sing in this one. It's got Fred Astaire, the greatest song and danceman ever to grace the silver screen. It contains one of the greatest solo dance routines Fred has ever done. A great romantic pairing with Fred and Audrey in a Parisian park that will bring tears to your eyes. Some weird 50's beatnik humor. The best photography of Paris I've ever seen. And a great score, mostly by George and Ira Gershwin. So, what's not to like?

THE TRANSFER IS GOD AWFUL!! Washed out color and a horribly grainy look that all but spoils this wonderful film.

IF EVER A CLASSIC FILM NEEDED RESTORATION, THIS IS IT!! Please, would someone get a hold of this masterpiece of romantic musical comedy and do it the justice it deserves. ANYTHING LESS WOULD BE A CRIME.

5 STARS FOR THE FILM. 0 STARS FOR THE DVD. SHAMEFUL!! ACT ACCORDINGLY.

Where Was MArni NIxon?
Funny Face has just about everything going for it. Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Stanley Donen, great Gershwin tunes, a terrific rare glimpse of the incomparable Kay Thompson and above all some of the most exciting visuals and overall art direction ever caught on film. So what happened? The sad decision to let Hepburn do her own singing. That's not to say her voice is bad. It's very... nice. But for a full blown musical of this scale, the audience is yearning for Hepburn's character to really give out with a great set of pipes. Perhaps not quite to the extent of Kay Thompson, an actress perhaps better suited for the stage than the intimacy of the screen. Yet while the movie does not fulfill its promise, it's still well worth seeing. The transformation of Hepburn from mousy bookstore clerk to haute couture model is as wonderful as her similar transformation in "Sabrina". The modeling sessions with Astaire directing Hepburn are delightful and above all the VistaVision presentation of late 50s gloss can not be matched, (the opening credits nearly make up for the entire movie). With Richard Avedon and Suzy Parker's influence the movie almost makes you forgive its failings. Still by the last frame the audience is left with only one thought: "Where's Marni Nixon when you need her?".

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Next Page