A Gay/campy chronicling of daily life in NYC,with individual kernels of human truth. copyright 2011 by The Raving Queen
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Why Does This Always Seem To Be Overlooked, When It Comes To Gay Iconic Movies?????????????
It does not have Judy Garland, girls, but it WAS directed by Vincente Minnelli, who, honeys, was one of Hollywood's most artistic queens!!!!!!!!!! And the breathtaking costumes were done by Cecil Beaton, who was IT for England! Plus, the entire plot hinges around how to entice a man!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, how can "Gigi" NOT be a gay icon movie?????????? And why does it seem to get overlooked??????????
It shouldn't, because, darlings, this is what we all want! Those fabulous clothes! Aunt Alicia's house, jewel box, and lace doily bathtub! Plus how to exercise the fine art of eating exquisite delicacies like Ortolans, drinking fine wine, and sipping the finest champagne, while singing one of the most joyous songs ever composed, "The Night They Invented Champagne!" Who could ask for anything more?
Not to mention the breathtaking romance. Girls, I am telling you, when Louis Jourdan, as Gaston, in that suit (!!!!), finally realizes he loves Gigi, runs to the fountain, and sings the title song, it just melts my heart, and the tears flow every time!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is it with these dizzy queens, who just don't get this???????? As Henry Higgins said of women ( which applies more now to dizzy queens!!!!!!!) in "My Fair Lady," also penned by "Gigi's" Lerner and Loewe, "Straightening up their hair is all they ever do. Why don't they straighten up the mess that is inside?"
Indeed! Or at least run a comb through it, which is another thing they might learn from "Gigi!"
To think audiences were completely enchanted by this in the late 50's; it won the Oscar as Best Picture Of 1958! Fashions were better, then, so was music, and so were manners, which may account for why the film was instantly embraced by seemingly conservative, straitlaced individuals. I am sure my parents, and/or their friends, saw "Gigi" when it first came out.
So, why does it seem to be forgotten today??? The answer comes from another, "Gigi"-related vehicle, "A Little Night Music," And it was spoken (or sung!) by Hermione Gingold, Broadway's original Madame Armfeldt, who, girls, was also in "Gigi!"
"Where is time?
Where is skill?
Where is forethought?"
Where's discretion of the heart?
Where's passion in the art?
Where's CRAFT?"
Indeed! Screw you, all you "Spring Awakening aficionados!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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