FUNNY FACE

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I didn’t have very high expectations of this 1957 musical.    It stars Fred Astaire who by then was in his late fifties and Audrey Hepburn who was not renowned for her singing or dancing.  Given the thirty year age gap between them any romance would make for uncomfortable viewing.  And there's only two songs of note, one of which (''S Wonderful') I don’t much care for. 
Astaire plays Dick, a photographer for a fashion magazine which is looking for a new model, whilst Hepburn plays Jo, a bookish young woman who has an interest in philosophy.  

It’s blindingly obvious that we're heading into Pygmalion-type territory, so the fact that I found the journey passably entertaining rather than crushingly tedious is testament to the charm of the two leads and to the skills of director Stanley Donen who brings visual flair and a light touch to proceedings. 

Another plus is the lively presence of Kay Thompson (a new name to me) as Dick's swaggering boss.   At 103 minutes the film moves breezily along, and it mostly takes place in Paris, which is never a bad thing.

At one point Hepburn makes a surprisingly good stab at some modern dance, and elsewhere she happily lets Astaire sweep her around.  But her limitations as a singer are evident when she has a go at what should be the musical highlight, 'How Long Has This Been Going On?'.

Astaire has one good solo dance number where he shows off his skill with a prop, in this case an umbrella.

It's typical of this type of film at this time that we're supposed to believe that one small kiss from Dick is enough for Jo to fall madly in love with him, so much so that she breaks out in tears whenever she has to model a wedding dress.  

When she meets her idol, a young handsome French philosopher, she resists his advances because of course she prefers wrinkly old Dick.  

At one point Dick says to Jo that the philosopher is about as interested in her intellect as he is, which doesn't seem very gallant, to the point of being misogynistic.  Then again the film doesn't take Jo's intellectual pretensions very seriously, which is one of the story's weaknesses.

Never mind, if you're in an uncritical mood, and especially if you enjoy seeing Audrey Hepburn sporting an array of stunning outfits then this concoction delivers exactly what you would hope for.

RATING: ✓ Cheers


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