Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly), an American World War II veteran, is trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend, Adam (Oscar Levant), is a struggling concert pianist who is a long time associate of a French singer, Henri Baurel (Georges Guétary). Milo Roberts (Nina Foch) takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is more interested in Jerry than his art. Jerry remains oblivious to her feelings and falls in love with Lise (Leslie Caron), a French girl he meets at a restaurant. Lise loves him as well but she is already in a relationship with Henri, whom she feels indebted to for having saved her family during World War II.
Gene Kelly never disappoints with his dance routines, most notably here with the kids scene, with various impressions (a soldier, a train, etc.) put to dance. The piano and music in general is good, but taken from a previous work by Gershwin, so one cannot really give it much credit for originality.
And what's with his pants? What do his legs look like? His muscles on top are always rippling, but his legs are securely hidden under the blanket of baggy pants -- is Gene Kelly a stick man? The black and white costume party scene is stylish, and looks great in technicolor. And who can talk badly of the extensive, 25-minute wordless extravagant ballet... with lots of talented unknowns all dancing their Paris-loving hearts out.
"An American in Paris" is a great film if you like watching Gene Kelly dance. Beyond that, though, it's hard to say -- the plot and characters aren't anything special. It's still a shame that this film won best picture (while "A Streetcar Named Desire" did not), and the following year "Singin' in the Rain" wasn't even nominated, despite obviously being the superior film. But, again, if you like seeing Gene Kelly dance, this probably won't disappoint.
Gene Kelly never disappoints with his dance routines, most notably here with the kids scene, with various impressions (a soldier, a train, etc.) put to dance. The piano and music in general is good, but taken from a previous work by Gershwin, so one cannot really give it much credit for originality.
And what's with his pants? What do his legs look like? His muscles on top are always rippling, but his legs are securely hidden under the blanket of baggy pants -- is Gene Kelly a stick man? The black and white costume party scene is stylish, and looks great in technicolor. And who can talk badly of the extensive, 25-minute wordless extravagant ballet... with lots of talented unknowns all dancing their Paris-loving hearts out.
"An American in Paris" is a great film if you like watching Gene Kelly dance. Beyond that, though, it's hard to say -- the plot and characters aren't anything special. It's still a shame that this film won best picture (while "A Streetcar Named Desire" did not), and the following year "Singin' in the Rain" wasn't even nominated, despite obviously being the superior film. But, again, if you like seeing Gene Kelly dance, this probably won't disappoint.