1958 Gigi

1958 Gigi

I must confess that it's hard for me to appreciate music in a musical I am unfamiliar with.  I typically must listen to the music several times to decide what I think, unless it's really catchy (Newsies, Wicked).  So only hearing these songs once, I am not a good judge of their merit, but I can't say I liked them.  I also thought the old gentleman singing Thank Heaven for Little Girls while watching girls play in the park was a little creepy, but that's probably just me being cynical.

The story was actually engaging, though it wasn’t clear to me at first that Gigi was a courtesan in training (they definitely downplayed that, which made things a little confusing).  Gigi is being trained to be a high class mistress by her grandmother and aunt, with such advice as: "Without knowledge of jewelery, my dear Gigi, a woman is lost."  Why they would want this life for her is not clear, except that it seems to be a family tradition.

It is suggested to a family friend, Gaston, that he be in love with Gigi, and lo and behold, he decides that he is (through song, of course: "Oh Gigi! While you were trembling on the brink was I out yonder somewhere blinking at a star? / Oh Gigi! Have I been standing up too close or back too far? / When did your sparkle turn to fire, / And your warmth become desire? / Oh what miracle has made you the way you are? Gigi! Gigi! Gigi! Oh no! I was mad not to have seen the change in you! Oh, Gigi!").

But Gigi doesn't want to be his mistress -as it turns out, she loves him too, but doesn't want to live the life of a courtesan: "I know what all this means. To "take care of me beautifully" means I shall go away with you... and that I shall sleep in your bed...To "take care of me" means that I shall have my photograph in the papers. That I shall go to the Riviera, to the races at Deauville. And when we fight, it will be in all the columns the next day. And then you'd give me up, as you did with Inèz des Cèvennes."  She changes her mind ("I'd rather be miserable with you than miserable without you."), and just as quickly Gaston changes his mind about the situation and proposes marriage, so all ends well.

Gigi is a quirky character, and I think she is supposed to be endearing, but I mostly found her silly.  I kept thinking how much better Audrey Hepburn would have been in the role (Leslie Caron plays Gigi in the movie).  Audrey Hepburn originated the role on Broadway in a non-singing version, and I so wish I could've seen that.  She seems perfect for the part, and I think I would have enjoyed it more with more dialogue and less singing.  This must be how Tyler feels about the musicals that I like.

The humor was ironic and witty, but not quite on par with an Oscar Wilde film or play (i.e. An Ideal Husband: "I love talking about nothing, Father. It's the only thing I know anything about.").  Or maybe it was the acting, and the lines just weren't delivered right.  Reading through some of the script, it seems quite funny, but when I watched it, it just didn't work.

For example, the following exchange:

Aunt Alicia: Love, my dear Gigi, is a thing of beauty like a work of art, and like a work of art it is created by artists. The greater the artist the greater the art. And what makes an artist?
Gigi: Cigars and jewelry?
Aunt Alicia: Gigi, you're from another planet.

This should have been funny -the writing is funny -but it wasn't.  As Gaston kept saying, "It's a bore!"

Maybe someday somebody will remake the film, scrap the music, and make it right.