What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
An American in Paris is on the following AFI lists:
The Original Top 100 (#68)
100 Years...100 Passions (#39)
100 Greatest Film Songs (#32 - "I Got Rhythm")
25 Greatest Movie Musicals (#9)
I initially watched An American in Paris when I was attempting to complete this original AFI list the first time, back in college. I remembered liking it, if not exactly loving it, because for a couple of semesters, I played violin (second) in the Michigan Pops Orchestra at the University of Michigan, and one of our concerts was Gershwin-themed. The actual American in Paris piece, which is the foundation of the finale ballet at the end of this film, was the Orchestra’s piece de resistance after cycling through numbers like Rhapsody in Blue, excerpts from Porgy and Bess, and other goodies. I remember relating to the film for that reason but not ultimately loving it because the ending was so abrupt. A decade later, after revisiting the film instantly on Netflix, my opinion has not changed much. An American in Paris is fun and beautiful in many ways, even as its story and story execution falter, movie musical or no.
The inimitable Gene Kelly plays Jerry Mulligan, the American referred to in the title. He is a painter attempting to make his way in the world's artistic center, Paris. Poor and struggling though he may be, he remains affable in the face of just about everything, including self-important art students imported from various countries willing to dissect his every technique, until a rich socialite named Milo Roberts (Nina Foch) discovers him and his wares and offers to be his lady patron in more ways than one. Jerry is distracted from Milo's overbearing affections by the cherubic face of Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron), and, letting no obstacle like a wealthy coquette stand in his way, he actively seeks to woo Lise. Unfortunately, one very large obstacle to the consummation of their relationship is the fact that Lise is involved with Jerry's friend Henri (Georges Guetary), a nightclub performer. Of course, this story of star-crossed love is punctuated by a score of pure Gershwin and songs by brothers George and Ira as well as rousing choreography created by Mr. Kelly himself.
An American in Paris is certainly entertaining. I think Gene Kelly's footwork feels as fresh and exciting today as it surely must have when the film was released, and his dancing chemistry with Leslie Caron was charming. The music was unmistakably fantastic - after all, who can ask for anything more (ahem) than Gershwin, and the actual song and dance numbers were both beautiful and breathtaking. On the occasion that Mr. Kelly chose to sing in this film, notably during the famous "I Got Rhythm," the film becomes ethereal in its musical perfection. As a prior reviewer noted, they just don't make 'em like they used to...
Still, An American in Paris, as well-staged and beautifully and artfully directed by Vicente Minnelli and his collaborators as it was, offering a delightful visual feast with entertaining and toe-tapping musical interludes, is noticeably inferior to Mr. Kelly's next project, Singin' in the Rain. While Singin' was also a hodgepodge and mishmash of old standards, strung together for the sake of the musical plot, the fact that Singin' had a plot and one that rings true for the ages makes it far better (and far more deserving of its accolades) than this film, which by all rights should be just as good. Paris portrays a simple romance in the vein of all great romances but does so in such a staccato way, the expert singing and dancing doesn't quite make up for the lack of story. The ending is especially disappointing - it seemingly comes from nowhere following the spectacular finale ballet choreographed against backdrops inspired by famous artists. In fact, the film might have made a wonderful avant garde piece if no words were spoken or sung at all. If the eighteen-minute final dance could have been turned into something feature-length, stretched over the Gershwin medley already employed, it might have been a spectacular live-action equivalent of Fantasia but set against this romance and romantic backdrop of Paris. Instead, it feels like a run-of-the-mill movie musical with some elements of excellence, such as Gene Kelly's, and to a lesser extent, Leslie Caron's dancing; the vividly colored art and set direction and the artistic touch of focusing the ballet on famed Parisian paintings; and the incomparable Gershwin score.
In point of fact, Mr. Guetary sang more of the songs than Mr. Kelly, and that detracted from the film in my book. He had one of those traditional, tinny voices obscured by his thick French accent, and none of the numbers he sang were quite as exciting as the songs sung by Gene Kelly. Fortunately, many of his solos featured Kelly dancing in the foreground, so it was easy to ignore the voice and concentrate on the fancy footwork.
I'm not saying An American in Paris is a bad film - quite the contrary. As a purely audio-visual piece of art that also manages to celebrate art, it's vivacious, graceful, and charming. Yet, it's by no means perfect; the lack of story is one such imperfection and a hurdle that those focused on story will have to get beyond in order to enjoy this film. As for me, I reveled in everything Gene Kelly in this picture; he is one of my favorites, after all, though Singin' in the Rain will always be my absolute favorite of his vehicles. I suppose it comes as no surprise, then, that I am inclined to rate this film a 7 for being shaky but entertaining (it practically screams this rating!). As to the test, it does not pass. As much as I love movie musicals, this is not one I can see owning and watching repeatedly (though this might change if I have the opportunity to work on An American in Paris for the stage, if such a version exists). It's noteworthy that this film, again, did not make the AFI's Revised greatest list, instead being replaced by Unforgiven (which climbed 30 spots from its original ranking). This is one of the few instances in which I actually agree with the fact of the film being replaced on the new list--though the jury's out on whether the replacement was a worthy successor.