Singin' in the Rain: Ridiculously implausible; impeccably danced; gloriously over the top; flawlessly cast; and never doomed to become old, tired or boring, this movie stars some of my favorite triple-threat actors--Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, with an honorable mention for the delightfully silly Jean Hagen--and fills me with inequitable amounts of giggly joy from the oversaturated colors of the opening credits to the curiously unflattering but undoubtedly loving billboard profiles in the closing shot. Its songs “Moses,” “Good Morning” and, of course, “Singin’ in the Rain” are absolute master classes in tap concept and technique (though not in making sure the actors never show the camera that their shoes have no taps on them as they collapse in the inevitable pile of giggles at the end of a song). And if any actor can completely repurpose and thus save a failing movie via a pep talk and a frankly weird proposal for a lanky, absurdist-conceptual dance sequence, it’s Gene Kelly. (Also: Please notice my epic restraint in never mentioning how the movie’s costumes hugged his perfectly round butt.)
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