The Age of Commercialism

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I never know quite how to respond to these movies. They have so many plot similarities. Fred is in trouble in some way, and Ginger is distant and resistant (ooh, a rhyme). Of course, they are fabulous dance musicals and the dancing is what the whole thing is about. It's my understanding that Astaire was about as demanding in this one as he could be. The plot involves a gambler who has a group of really conniving friends who get in his way as he tries to marry a society woman. Her father has had it with his wastefulness and lack of dependability and demands a huge amount of money to try another shot at a wedding. He loses a bet and is penniless. This is where he meets Rogers and the rest resolves itself with many pitfalls along the way. There are wonderful musical numbers, including "The Way You Look Tonight," "Pick Yourself Up," "A Fine Romance," and "Never Gonna Dance." Thank goodness he ignored the title of the last one.

. . . during SWING TIME, he knocks her down three times. Later, during Fred's infamous White Men Can't Dance number, a trio of Black Shadows behind a scrim seem to be Out-Hoofing him. But during a week in which a couple of America's Most Beloved 90-something gentlemen have passed away, seeing a guy Born Old--such as Fred--taking so many falls in SWING TIME sort of puts a lump in your throat. (Specifically, the USA's original "Help, I've fallen in my bathtub and can't get up!" role model--John Glenn--and the Heimlich maneuver dude, who choked to death a few days after Mr. Glenn expired.) One of the Housewives of New Jersey--Arlene--just turned 114, and she's been a widow for 54 years. Another widow, an Italian named Emma, had 117 candles on her birthday cake last summer, and is the only person still alive on Earth who was born in the 1800s (just think of the pressure on HER!). It's kind of sad to think of ladies such as Arlene, Emma and Ginger being left alone for so long, which helps to make SWING TIME so poignant despite all of Fred's pratfalls. Oscar Hammerstein once wrote "What's the Use of Wond'ring If the Ending Will Be Sad?" because it always is.

A performer and gambler (Fred Astaire) travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer.At this point in my life I have seen enough musicals and dance films to know that the bulk of them are just so-so or not all that great. The musicals are dated far too easily, and some of the stars (especially Frank Sinatra) just never seem right. That being said, "Swing Time" was a breath of fresh air. No one denies that Astaire is a great dancer. He also happens to be rather funny in this one.My only regret is I feel like Warner Brothers never gives their films the treatment they deserve. This DVD is alright, but it still seems like it is missing something in the way of extras.

The music in "Swing Time" is excellent: A collection of really beautiful songs. Add to that some of the best partner dancing (and choreography) of all time and the result is a an excellent film where the dance numbers actually drive the film.When you watch "Swing Time", you realize that the storyline is entertaining, but rather simple. But the dance numbers are dramatic, emotional, uplifting, and inspired. In fact, they communicate the story and the emotions of the two primary characters more than their words.The climactic dance number ("Never Gonna Dance") says it all. The choreography conveys the love, the heartbreak, and the disappointment of Lucky (Fred Astaire) and Penny (Ginger Rogers) despite the fact that they cannot voice their feelings. This is a remarkable accomplishment. No wonder so many consider this to be the best film pairing of this amazing dance team.Ginger herself named "Swing TIme" as her favorite of all her films. This was due to a number of factors. Firstly, she felt that director George Stevens "had an incredible sensitivity to an actress playing a scene." Secondly, she thought the score by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields was "scrumptious". Thirdly, through her costumer, Bernard Newman, she was able to realize her "dream" dress for the "Waltz in Swing Time" number, and said "I can never emphasize enough how important clothing was to me." "Never Gonna Dance" was the last dance number in the film. Ginger reports that it took 48 takes and they finished at 4:00 A.M. Complications--besides the demanding choreography--included an arc light going out, a noise in the camera, and Fred's toupe falling off. During one break, Ginger took her shoes off and found that her shoes "were filled with blood".