An American in Paris (1951)

Ah, the early romantic musicals. Full of great song and dance numbers and generally ridiculous plot contrivances to make the songs fit together. An American in Paris is a prime example of this. The songs are all nice, but they just don't fit in the plot. I mean, come on. The boyfriend releases the girl to go back to the man she loves - and has a smile on his face the entire time. "By Strauss" couldn't really have any conceivably normal lead-in... and "I Got Rhythm" was made incredibly irritating by a bunch of little kids screaming "I GOT!" Sheesh. 'Tis a marvelous song, must it be ruined? *sob* However, if Gershwin's your forte and you don't mind silly plot contrivances... go for it. Er. Not ruining "I Got Rhythm." Watching the movie. 1.5 stars.