It's Always Fair Weather . Austin Chronicle . 07-27-98

It's Always Fair Weather

DIRECTED BY: Gene Kelly

REVIEWED: 07-27-98

The lack of popularity of classic musicals always surprises me. There are few genres more in need of the big screen and an audience to work. The best musicals are exuberant explosions. The central conceit of most theatrical films is that they are real. We are being offered, in Jimmy Stewart's words, "pieces of time," ripped from the fabric of life. Whether they are science fiction or costume drama, what's crucial to the emotional success of commercial films is that we believe them. Animated films, experimental works, and musicals constantly remind us that we are watching a film; this is part of their charm. This is an amazing film ... for Cyd Charisse's legs alone. A decade after World War II, three friends meet up only to discover the only thing they had in common was the war. Thinking back on the film, I remember its color and its energy, the crazy we-can-do-anything-we-want feeling marshaled by co-directors Kelly and Donen. After this you'll find yourself dancing in the street, as well as checking out more movies with the amazing Cyd Charisse.

--Louis Black

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