Mr. Deeds goes to the Easter Parade...well, sort of

What I really enjoy about this little project of mine (some might say 'compulsion', or even 'obsession') is that I am watching so many movies that I would probably never, ever watch. Some are very disappointing, but others have been pleasant surprises. Over this long holiday weekend, I have about 8 movies to watch, and have finished two of them, and they fall under the 'pleasant surprises' category, very pleasant surprises.

7/4/13 Easter Parade, Best Original Musical Score, 1948

Right away Easter Parade opens with a musical number with Fred Astaire and the ensemble singing 'Happy Easter' as they stroll up and down the avenue. My first thought was, oh crap, this is going to be so cornball, I'm never going to make this without laughing my head off. Oh, how cynical the 21st century has made us. It was great, Astaire singing and spinning, and the parade of Easter bonnets was wonderful. In fact, after watching the movie, I was a little surprised that it wasn't even nominated for best costume, because the hats alone would be the envy of Ascot and the Kentucky Derby. The movie was set in 1912, an era which had very different standards in dress and formality than today, or even 1948. Anyway, Astaire rolls from one number to another, playing drums, dancing and singing, and I was hooked. Irving Berlin (White Christmas) wrote the songs. Astaire plays a dancer (Don Hewes), whose partner, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) decides to go solo with the Ziegfield Follies. Hewes believes he can take anyone and make them a dancer (think Pygmalion/My Fair Lady with a quick step), and in walks Hannah Brown (Judy Garland). Garland really gets to show her comedic timing, I hope I don't have to draw attention to the fact she can sing. Watching her and Astaire dance was really fun, and Ann Miller was no slouch either. As I watch so many of these movies, I try to think of them in the context of can parents watch this movie with their kids, and will kids groan at the thought of watching it? You can definitely watch this with your kids (or grandkids if you've got 'em), think of it broadening their horizons beyond comic book violence and crash 'em and smash 'em films. I'm sure I sound so ridiculously old-fashioned, and in some ways, I probably am, but I don't think that there are a lot of movies made today (save for the slew of animated films released every holiday season) that can be watched as a family. If you like this, you may also like Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.

7/5/13 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Best Director, 1936

Well, I feel silly writing this review because just last week I wrote a scathing review of A Farewell to Arms starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes, and here I am, watching another Gary Cooper movie (I just picked it up at the library, not even paying attention to who was in it, just that it won an Oscar). I was not looking forward to this 116 minute cinematic experience at all. Oh, happy, happy day! The Gary Cooper in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was NOT the same Gary Cooper in A Farewell to Arms or the other Gary Cooper movies I have watched in the past several months. Someone turned Pinocchio into a real boy! Maybe it was Frank Capra (he won for Best Director, and directed It's a Wonderful Life with James Stewart), maybe it was the script, or Jean Arthur, his leading lady, I don't know, but it was a fabulous surprise. Postcard poetry writer and tuba-playing Longfellow Deeds is from small-town Mandrake Falls when it is discovered that he is the sole heir to $20 million (in 1936 dollars, can you imagine what that would be like today?). Longfellow has a refreshingly honesty that lacks pretension or any need for ostentation, he plays tuba in his own farewell parade and frets about who will replace him in the town band. Of course, everyone else is out to exploit him, mock him and otherwise get over on Longfellow, including Babe Bennett, ace reporter played by Jean Arthur (I don't think I have ever seen Jean Arthur before, which is a shame) and the lawyers for the late Martin Semple, Longfellow's beneficiary. Corny Cobb, who is supposed to keep Deeds out of trouble, reluctantly begins to admire and appreciate Deeds' way of seeing life and his pure motives. Deeds becomes something of a laughing stock thanks to Babe's articles (he is unaware that she is duping him), and his quick temper; on several occasions he resorts to punching people out. After a hostile encounter with a struggling farmer (this is 1936, the middle of the Great Depression), Deeds has a great idea to give farmers another chance at running their own farms (kind of like homesteading), reminiscent of the scene near the end of It's a Wonderful Life with George giving away the bank's money. This act leads to the circle of lawyers sending him to a mental hospital and challenging his mental capacity. The trial scene sort of reminded me if Miracle on 34th Street. There are some very funny moments, like when two elderly sisters from Mandrake Falls say that Longfellow is 'pixilated' leaving the court and the observers amused and certain Longfellow is not fit to have a $20 million dollar fortune. I enjoyed this movie more than It's a Wonderful Life, I don't know why, but I did, and it's unfortunate that it doesn't get played more on the classic movie channels. But it may be available from your local library or Netflix, and I suggest you check it out. Would I lie to you?