5. Singin’ in the Rain – Singin in the Rain & Make Em Laugh
A shameless demonstration of the joy of love and the value of laughter in this double-hitter from Singin’ in the Rain, arguably the finest musical to ever reach the big screen. Yes, a few years ago Channel 4 did a countdown voted for by viewers and yes, this was beaten to first place by Grease, so no, no-one apparently has any taste or discernment any more. Grease is okay. Singin’ in the Rain is something else.
Covering the same ground as The Artist, SITR tells the story of the transition to sound, this time through Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, two matinee stars. Lockwood has come through a history of vaudeville and stunt work, Lamont is beautiful but has a voice built for silent films. As was genuinely the case in the late 1920’s, when actors who were grounded in the overplaying that suited silents or who had grating voices or indecipherable accents struggled to make the transition to talkies, Lockwood and Lamont have a hard time adapting to the new medium.
With this fascinating and compelling background in place, there is then time and space for some of the most celebrated set pieces in all of musical cinema. Lockwood falls in love with Debbie Reynolds’s Kathy Selden and their rendition with the incomparable Donald O’Connor of “Good Morning” effortlessly brings a smile to your face, but it is the title song that we all remember, despite the best efforts of crass car adverts to riff on it. Lockwood is shamelessly in love and his child-like jumping in puddles is as effective a portrayal of the giddiness of love as you could imagine. Monumental and iconic, yet fresh and affecting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ
Make Em Laugh instead rings the bell for slapstick and how important it is to make audiences laugh, how vital it is that we enjoy ourselves. My kids could watch this song on a loop all day, so enjoyable do they find it. A plank of wood to the back of the head, dancing with a stuffed dummy, running up (and through) walls, getting your legs tangled up, it’s all here. Pure joy.
