Classic musical!

Singin' in the Rain is a bona fide guilty pleasure; this wonderful musical is a classic and has always been remembered as one of the greatest movie musicals in film history. For those of you unfamiliar with the title song I suggest you rent the film without hesitation. The image of Gene Kelly merrily dancing in the pouring rain while singing is one of the most memorable images in screen history.

Trust me, I never wanted to even touch this movie because of the woefully childish poster as well as the corny title (a song that I still hum on rainy days, and now will continue to do so until the day I die) but this is a prime example of a movie only hurt by its marketing campaign. Where I expected an infinite amount of overworked, childish musical numbers I instead found myself exhibiting a movie with a magnificent plot and some bright music as the ribbon on top.

I loved the singing and dancing; it's always so well thought out and choreographed. It looks enchanting on the screen and a true crowd pleaser.

Singin' in the Rain is a film about a movie company in the age of silent films. Its principal stars are Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Hagen) who put on a show for the cameras as a couple for the publicity. But when the age of talkies is upon them, the audience demands sound features. Needless to say, this becomes a difficult transition as Lina's voice is more annoying than the sound of whipping a group of cats.

The story is incredibly original, the musical numbers are colourful and the characters are a mixed bag of delightful performances. What I was surprised with the most was the actual lack of songs during the film. Not that it was a downfall, but the horrendous marketing campaign and the images hammered into my head as a youngster made the film out to be filled with music. I found the small amount of music (when compared to the rest of the picture) to be a positive, as some of the musical numbers are marred by gross over-length. I refer mainly to the 'Broadway Melody' scene that really runs off the trail and sits awkwardly with the rest of the movie. It's spectacular, but far too overproduced and a little dissimilar to the mood of the rest of the movie.

The plot was something I never expected. It takes a fascinating look at life for the Hollywood movie studios when forced to covert to talkies to save their reputation. I never expected such a true-to-life plot to appear in such a musical.

Gene Kelly is lively, flamboyant and charming. He breathes life into every song he sings. Singin' in the Rain is a film that one should not judge by its cover. On the outside it may look like some childish pile of rubbish, but instead it's an appealing musical that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. You can call me gay or weird, but I had a tremendously enjoyable time viewing the movie. Highly recommended.