On the Town Reviews

I mean, I did like Singin’ in the Rain, and that was fun—same director, same genre, same five-year period. And for the record, I haven’t seen “Don’t Worry Darling”. And Frank Sinatra is cool, you know. It’s just, I don’t know. I’m not a big stickler for realism, but it’s just so goofy for sailors to be…. I don’t know. I mean, it was a different time—the Jazz Age, the 40s, sure. It’s just that for me, I feel like if you let sailors loose in New York for 24 hours to take the city by storm and get lucky, it wouldn’t be, I don’t know, cutesy, you know. There’s not needing excessive realism, and then there’s…. Yeah. But like I said, it was a different time. Fulton Sheen and CS Lewis and so on hated the Jazz Age, and they probably thought that Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly were frivolous and indecent—and that would be what they’d say in a good mood, you know—so, sure, you’ve got to make it a little cutesy, you know…. But I mean, if Clint Eastwood were a sailor and he got let out in New York for 24 hours after not seeing a girl for six months, would “cute” be the word that would come to mind to describe the ensuing interactions? 

But anyway. I mean, I was also confused how it was billed as Frank and Gene being the guys, but then really it was Frank, Gene, and the guy who wasn’t famous, (shrugs), but that’s a minor point, a minor confusion for me. 

The main thing is just, it was a different time, you know, so it’s funny like that. Of course, I probably don’t watch enough romantic comedies, and “fun” movies; I’ve seen lots of, not so much war movies, as political/social commentary ones, so it’s nice to get one that’s a little hokey I guess, even if it’s, yeah, a little strange I guess, in a way. 

…. Of course, some of the choices they made in the anthropology museum were a little sketchy, you know: now that New York is here, man is white, although back in primitive times, man was an Easter Islander or something…. But back in those times, it was either Jack or Gene, Fulton or Frank, you know: there was nobody else to influence them, to play to, so the bad bits were a shoo-in, really. You couldn’t have even had a debate about it, in the 40s. That’s just how life was. 

…. But I guess that it is kinda cute how we have to run all over New York looking for the Perfect Society Girl (TM), who’s the perfect combination of sexy and cute—everything—and feeling rather ambivalent, in the end, about the more modern women, the working-class/independent one and the scholar/schooled/and (unsuccessfully, of course) monitored one, right…. It’s cute: in a discouraging kind of way. And that’s the best way, right, according to All The Best People (TM). 

…. It is kinda curious though, how essentially conservative most intellectuals are, although most people generally are that way, too, except for the very young (sometimes), and those conscious of being at the end of some great wrong (usually)…. Anyway, there is a sort of formalist crust and cant that the “bookish” sorts give to it, although most people pretend to be an intellectual, at least sometimes—and it’s easy, if you’re somebody’s father or whatever. But, anyway. 

…. But I guess that’s just how it is, future ghosts—I guess it just means that I’ll just have to see Don’t Worry Darling and see which movie brings me more pain…. 

Assuming Olivia Wilde has directed at least three movies, you know. 

Mister Monk: I like to watch movies in groups of three, but each movie in several short sittings, so that the whole experience is more like reading a book. I guess I’m little OCD like that…. Wipe! 

Sherona: (weirded out) That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And I am not getting you a wipe. I quit. 

Natalie: (eager) Here, Mister Monk; I’ll get you a wipe. 

Mister Monk: (distantly) Thank, thank you….

…. But yeah, it’s cutesy to the point of being insincere, you know: in the military, you briefly lead the fast life, you know; you’re not the perfect date for the Perfect Society Girl, especially since you’re getting paid a street cleaner’s salary and get one day off every six months, you know…. The way people talk about the military is always so strange; it’s like, you respect them to the exact proportion that you lie about them, right…. Anyway, it’s very cutesy, right, but like I said, a lot of it was set in stone before the screen-writer even accepted the job to write the script, you know. It’s like, convention, you know. Things have to be a certain way. Things are supposed to look a certain way. 

…. Although the song “You’re Awful” was good. I guess that the manliest men and the most feminine women needed music to give expression to the ambivalence/attraction they held for one another, lol. 

…. But I mean, I know this movie is from 1949 and propaganda is romantic, but let’s try to get a fucking grip, right: nobody misses military food. 

They just don’t. 

…. But when I told my mom I was watching a movie with Frank Sinatra, she insisted that my (departed) grandfather was “with” me, you know. I guess we’re all superstitious in different ways; she’s very attached to the family ghosts, you know. 

I guess you never know. 

…. I gave up gaming, you know, but you know what would make an awesome RPG: Off-Duty Sailors vs the NYPD…. I’m telling you, man; I’m telling you…. 

…. Anyway, I guess I’ll have to watch one more Stanley Donen movie; I wonder if it will be amusing like Singing in the Rain, or weird like this, you know. 

Although I have to say, this is better than those games I used to play: ‘The Conquest of the Earth: A “Culturally Inclusive” Experience’ (Conquest of the Earth series) 

—What’s “culturally inclusive” about the conquest of the earth, Loki? Doesn’t it involve, bombing, defeating, and shaming the other cultures? 

—Be quiet Hermes; shut up! (points at the price tag) 

…. I’m not sure how I feel about Miss Turnstiles being dependent on her girlfriend’s money, you know. They built her up in this goofy way in her intro song, and obviously everyone is a little bit more vulnerable than that, but I dunno; are we like afraid of success? Are people (girls?) less worthwhile and less worth spending time with (more threatening?) when they can pay their own way? (think-think emoji) 

…. And Obviously no comedy about men is complete without an unattractive girl who gets humiliated, lol…. 

…. So yeah, that happened. Hokey heroes, meet hometown heroes…. 

And of course: Off-duty sailors vs cops—the next chapter…. 

Three sailors on 24-hour shore leave look for love and adventure in On the Town, one of the most enthusiastic musicals to come out of Arthur Freed’s unit. This was the first musical to film on location, with the “New York, New York” number racing through all of the infamous sights and locations the city had to offer in 1949. If the film has any flaw, it’s that the central romance between Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen isn’t as fun as the other lusty pairings.

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin are the three sailors looking for a good time, and Vera-Ellen, Betty Garret, and Ann Miller are very happy to provide one. The stakes are fairly low, but my god is it irresistible. On the Town charms you with its high-energy thrills, and with dance choreography that is both graceful and athletic. There’s an optimism here that’s quite refreshing in contrast to our modern cynicism.

Where On the Town really excels is in presenting a group of characters that we want to spend time with, that we root for, and want to succeed. It’s a bit funny to see Sinatra play the aww-shucks viriginal good boy, but he keeps the wide-eyed wonder believable. Kelly and Munshin are the lady-killers, along with both being huge wiseasses. They’re a fun trio, with each of them working effectively as individuals and a unit.

Even better are Betty Garrett and Ann Miller. They’re working in their primary modes, with Miller being the horny best friend and Garrett as the dominating force. Garrett’s frequently pining Sinatra down while he looks up in erotic fixation and slight terror. “Come Up to My Place” is a back-and-forth between them that ends with Sinatra submitting to Garrett’s romantic aggression. And Miller gets a line about liking bare skin, a pun during her big number “Prehistoric Man,” that causes Sinatra and Kelly to swallow hard and blush in demureness to her sexual prowess.

The only true flaw in the ensemble is Vera-Ellen, who is a beautiful and graceful dancer, one of cinema’s best, but severely limited as an actress. Her “Miss Turnstiles Ballet” is a highlight of her consummate skills, but she can’t sell some of her jokes or big dramatic scenes. It’s best to watch her successfully emote in “A Day in New York,” one of Kelly’s patented dream sequence dance numbers.

A wonderful musical from the Dream Factory, On the Town is an almost-masterpiece. Perhaps another actress in the lead role would have improved matters, but everything else zips and pops with tremendous energy. Maybe not one of their top-tier musicals, but definitely one of their better efforts as it delivers on the promise of gaiety, romance, and solid musical numbers.