An American in Paris - a Movie Review

I watched an American in Paris last night, and well, its an odd movie. Its a musical, and apparently it was ranked in the top one hundred movies list a few years back. For a movie made in the fifties, I guess it was okay, and probably very well received, but I found it rather dated.

This is the plot. This poor American artist lives in Paris after WW2. He meets a lady from Baltimore, with lots of money. She just wants to get him in bed (or in the musical world, falls in love in minutes), but he has morals and she doesn't get him, but she does sponsor him for an art show and is pretty much moody anytime she spends time with him. In the meantime, he meets this shy French girl. He falls in love in minutes (read wants to sleep with her), and he tricks her to dance with him, tricks her to give up her phone number, and pretty much plays stalker. She eventually falls in love, and now, comes the problem: She is engaged to a much older French guy. Her family was in the resistance during WW2, and the French guy saved her life by hiding her or something like that. She feels obligated to marry him. This information comes out during a night scene, where the American runs off. He immediately hooks up with the rich American Lady, who cancels her evening plans to be with him. After taking her (the Rich American Lady) to this party, he dumps her in like five minutes due to guilt. Asshole. He meets up with the French girl, and her fiancee, they end up on the balcony together, they talk, and she leaves with the balcony. She can't marry the American because she made a promise. Her fiancee, for some strange reason was hiding behind a pillar. He overheard everything. The fiancee and the French girl get into a car and leave. Apparently, in the American Artist's despair, his imagination creates a really weird musical number where he is dancing with the love of his life, it goes on for too long, and doesn't make sense, as he is supposed to be sad, since he didn't get the girl, but the musical number is quite cheerful. I'm thinking this is a metaphor for something, but Im not really sure. In the last five minutes, the car comes back and she comes running out, all smiles, and credits roll.

My thinking, The American was an Asshole, and should have been slapped at the first meeting. The poor French girl agreed to marry a guy she didn't love because she thought she owed him something (this seems incredibly wrong), and the poor French guy, well, he fell in love, and thought all was well, and his girl was cheating on him, well in 1950 musical style. He was pretty much an innocent. This movie was a product of its times, and I give it credit for that, but I found it much dated, and rather annoying. The music was by Gershwin, and it was very good.