Funny Face

The worst thing about this movie was how attracted my friends and I were to Audrey Hepburn *before* she gets "made over". The other sad thing is how Fred Astaire looks in contrast to Hepburn; he's likeable enough, but his dancing is definately better in other films, and he looks like her grandpa. This was definately one of the worst movies I ever had the displeasure to sit through.

source: Funny Face

I recently saw "Funny Face" and I was just enchanted from start to finish. This beautiful, sublime, light-hearted musical pairs the incomparable Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. It was the perfect vehicle for Hepburn, and in my humble opinion, "Funny Face" ties with "The Band Wagon" as the best Fred Astaire musical of the 50's. "Funny Face" tells the story of Jo Stockton (Hepburn) a deep and outspoken Beatnik bookseller, and Dick Avery (Astaire), a raffish but compassionate photographer for "Quality" magazine. "Quality" is run by its hilariously vapid editor, Maggie Presscott (Kay Thompson, a real scene stealer). After some unusual circumstances, Dick convinces the waifish Jo that she has model potential and should go to Paris with him. The plot is sometimes a moot point as soon as they get there, but what happens after that is song, dance, great clothes, and a beautiful romantic song and dance with Audrey and Fred on a grassy knoll. There's also a rather famous scene with Audrey descending a flight of stairs in a gorgeous red strapless dress with white gloves. I've seen a lot of criticism for "Funny Face", and I disagree that it's shallow and anti-intellectual. What separates this movie from, say, "She's All That" is that Jo only goes to Paris as a "means to an end" for modelling, which Jo is vehemently against. She never compromises who she is, and doesn't officially fall for Dick until much later, so romance is never a motive for anything. Also, Dick admires Jo's inner beauty, even before she becomes a stunner. They are much more likable and romantic leads than in most "makeover" movies. Please don't over-analyze "Funny Face", just sit back and let yourself be spellbound. Trust me, "s'wonderful"!!

Or "Anorexic Face". Astaire is the funny face. He's like Stan Laurel's uglier, skinnier brother. Anorexic face and bony face should get along splendidly, and they do. And while they get along, they dance and sing a series of enthralling numbers, one better than the next. The 1st song is a perky little ditty called "This Song Mentions the Word 'Pink' A Lot And Should Put You To Sleep Soon". The 2nd one, sung by Anorexic Face, is "I Just Kissed Someone's Great-grandfather So I Wanna Vomit My Last Week's Dinner". The 3rd one is a truly enchanting one, and goes by the name "When The Two Of Us Dance You Can Hear Our Bones Rattle All The Way In Zimbabwe". "We're In Paris, But We Remain A Dull Bunch" is the vivaciously sung 4th song. The 5th one is memorable, a highlight: "Paris Can Be So Dull When I Sing To An Anorexic Librarian". But I really fell in love with the 6th song, a delightful little mood-killer called "I'm In Love With My Best Friend's Great-granddaughter, So I Hope She Likes Wrinkles". Unfortunately, all glorious things must come to an end, and that goes for this thrilling musical, too: the last song is a classic unrivaled by any other jaw-breaker, "'S Wonderful That This Movie Finally Ended, So Please Stop Snoring". Oh, and there is a dance number in a seedy French locale; the dance is entitled "Can You Tell I'm Not Really Michael Jackson?". Astaire, aged 125 here, looks better than ever. It's a wonder he doesn't have all of gay Pari's fashion-models on his heels. But he could if he wanted to: all he has to do is step all over them during one of his step-dancing numbers. Hepburn, around 17 here, isn't bothered by the fact that Astaire used to play chess with Lincoln's assassin. She wants children from Astaire, even if that means injecting his sperm with a life-serum. I think they look terrific together. What a pair. There is something unmistakably romantic about the way Fred's dry, shriveled-up lips suck the life out of Audrey's virginal young mouth. There is something unmistakably unique about a couple who can split a single pea for lunch and not be hungry. There is also something unmistakably remarkable about Astaire's discovery of Hepburn in the library; she is two-dimensional so it's almost science-fiction the way Astaire manages to even see her. The movie could be also called "Funny Face As Seen With X-Ray Vision". The movie ridicules the moronic beatniks, and what a ridicule! I'm sure the beatniks, after having seen this movie, shoved their heads into the sand in embarrassment, having realized that their lives were a waste; for that is how powerful this movie's satire is. Monty Python, move over, "Funny Face" is the future of social satire. If you're interested in reading my "biographies" of Audrey Hepburn and other Hollywood people, contact me by e-mail.

The bookshop salesgirl Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) is accidentally found by the photograph Dick Avery (Fred Astaire), who convinces the owner of the fashion magazine Quality, the powerful Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson), that she could be the new model she wants for the magazine. Jo dreams on going to Paris to meet her guru, the philosopher Prof. Emile Flostre (Michel Auclair), but she cannot afford to pay for the travel; therefore she sees in the invitation, the chance to visit Paris. Once there, Dick falls in love for her. "Funny Face" has a great cinematography, art direction, set decoration, costume design and most important, a charming and delightful Audrey Hepburn. Kay Thompson is also excellent. The problem is the silly screenplay that shows at least two great mistakes. The first one is the inconsistent and contradictory character Jo Stockton, presented as an intelligent and clever woman in the beginning, but later becoming absolutely shallow, acting like an irresponsible spoiled child. The second big mistake is Fred Astaire (58), thirty years old older than Audrey Hepburn (28), therefore more than twice her age, as her romantic pair. This great actor looks like her father, and there is no romantic chemistry between them. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Cinderela em Paris" ("Cinderella in Paris")

"Funny Face" has some great things going for it--the production values, some of the songs, the costumes, and the fashion sequences--but its script leaves a lot to be desired. Audrey Hepburn plays a beatnik who joins up with fashion photographer Fred Astaire in order to visit her favorite philosopher in Paris. Fred keeps trying to convince her that the philosopher is a fake, and that she should fall for him instead. To win her over, he says flattering things like, "That guy's about as interested in your intellect as I am!" Annoyingly, the movie takes his side, and tries to convince Audrey, not to mention the female viewers, that women should give up thinking and concentrate on looking pretty. In fact, they should only "Think Pink!" Strange that a movie so obviously geared to women should spend so much of its time insulting them.

I've read all the glowing reviews and posts hailing Funny Face as a tour de force 1950s musical. It didn't connect with me for a couple of reasons. Reason One: The disturbing use of Audrey Hepburn as a geezer magnet, not just in this movie, but a number of others. What's going on here? It's almost obscene, and is totally unbelievable that a young lady in her 20s will fall hopelessly in love with someone obviously old enough to be her father (or even grandfather). Reason Two: The songs didn't stick with me. I know I sound superficial but I do like musicals that keep me humming tunes days after I've first heard them. That didn't happen here, I can't even remember single tune. I did like the New York-ness of the movie, and the clothing and slang of the 1950s. But this can't salvage what I found to be a boring movie.

This snappy musical teams an ageing Fred Astaire with the young and lively Audrey Hepburn, puts them in Paris with a lovely Gershwin score, and piles on the slush to create romantic confection that really is irresistible. Audrey is at her best here, whether singing (in her own voice) ‘How Long Has This Been Going On?', dancing wildly around a café, or looking like a mannequin in the fabulous frocks. Kay Thompson is on hand too, with her own fabulous number, ‘Think Pink' about the trials and tribulations of being a fashion magazine editor. It probably works best with the misty filters and the dreamy sequences, though. And Audrey is serenaded by Fred dancing beneath her window, like the dashing prince who comes to rescue Rapunzel. Musical corn perhaps, but addictive nonetheless.

Entertaining but thin musical -- Stanley Donen's take on "American in Paris." Astaire is a bit too old to be plausibly linked with Hepburn (who we're supposed to believe is unattractive in wool dresses and glasses. This woman would look good in a trash bag). The movie seems to take place in a universe where Fred Astaire never ages, because the difference in their ages is never even an issue as I recall. the dances are pretty disappointing, except Audrey Hepburn's "Basil Metabolism" beatnik sequence. Beautifully photographed with style, everyone does well but there is no real substance. Good Gershwin songs culled from a handful of plays (including the original "Funny Face", which was a better show starring Fred and Adele Astaire), mostly inferior versions of often-done standards. No plot is taken from the original musical at all. This movie just seems so out of place at its time -- making fun of beatniks just points up how much time had already passed Donen, Astaire, and certainly Gershwin by. Must have felt like a relic to audiences in the 50s: seems like it could be a cherished relic to fans today.

Although she gets to use her own singing voice on her song numbers, Audrey Hepburn's natural gamine appeal is nearly swallowed up in the fake-happy surroundings of "Funny Face", a stylish Stanley Donen musical saddled with a leadweight (though Oscar-nominated!) script by Leonard Gershe. Fred Astaire plays a famous photographer based in New York City who discovers the beauty in a mousy Greenwich Village book-clerk. So far, so good. But from these promising beginnings comes nothing more pressing than a complicated-romance plot which holds no weight, no substance, and delivers nary a flicker of chemistry between Fred and Audrey. There's also a dire subplot about a philosopher in Paris, with the film laughably comparing a beatnik lecture to a spiritual. Hepburn is used as a model--and she's a great model--but where's all that enchanting feistiness we know she's capable of? Donen is only interested in flash and fluttery-gay nonsense. The Gershwin songs are often lovely, the film's color schemes and fashions are terrific, but the movie's kick is all a fabrication--and its romance is rote. Other Oscar noms included: art direction, Ray June for his cinematography and Edith Head for her costumes (shared with Audrey's designer, Hubert de Givenchy, who received his only recognition from the Academy here). **1/2 from ****