It's Always Fair Weather

IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER is finally on DVD. Looks great on the wide screen. Clever story and spectacular dance numbers. Gene Kelly has never been better. The same goes for Dan Daily. While Cyd Charrise always plays the same character, kind of up-tight, she does well her and her BABY YOU KNOCK ME OUT number is a knock out. Story is about three Army buddies who re-unite after a ten years. They have changed and that's the basis of the story. Michael Kidd is the third buddy and he's wonderful. A shame his only solo was cut from the final version, as was a number with Kelly and Charisse. You can see them in the outtakes. The real show stopper here is Dolores Gray as the TV hostess. Her over the top performance is great as is her two numbers. IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER stands up with the three other classic original musicals from MGM...SINGIN IN THE RAIN;AN American IN Paris and THE BANDWAGON. WEATHER is a must see for all musical fans.

We've been fans of MGM musicals for many years, but somehow we never got around to watching this. I'm afraid we were left wondering what went wrong, as it is a long way from MGM's best. The first half hour contains a far-too-long (and not very good) dance sequence and a lot of poor dialogue. Then the film sinks into a rather sour flavour and the second-rate song and dance routines do little to lift the mood. The stand-out segment (sadly much too short) is Kelly's 'I like Myself' on roller skates, which is a classic warm & happy MGM number with glorious, flowing music and lush orchestration. There is a happy ending, but not before a rather depressing TV show scene. I think this story would have been far better as a non-musical drama, as the bitter taste and social comment does not lend itself to the classic MGM musical style. It pains me to give MGM such a low score, but it's a 4 from me.

It's Always Fair Weather has a somewhat ironic title, because it's not like most every other M-G-M musical in that things don't always turn out perfectly. I believe that its darker-than-average humour (for that time at least) contributed to its being ahead of its time. For instance, the plot has to do with a friendship not being the same after ten years, a boxing match being fixed, a jaded woman (Charisse), a corporation sell-out (Dailey), and a "small-time operator" (Kelly). The numbers, though, are typically excellent, particularly the dance in the beginning where the trio is drunk, Cyd's Baby You Knock Me Out, and Kelly's famous I Like Myself, in which he tap dances on rollerskates! Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's choreography is nothing short of dazzling. And yes, Gene's smile could still melt stone. Cyd Charisse is great and beautiful as always, too bad she had only one number. So go see It's Always Fair Weather, just don't expect anything real fluffy.