paganlove

WOW... *blink*...*blink*

I knew that 1950s musicals were happy affairs, but this is by far the happiest movie I have ever
experienced. Now, I’m not big on musicals so it takes a lot for me to remain objective. This movie
plays dirty because it’s so happy and so sentimental it doesn’t try to be realistic. Rather, this is a
film you can throw your hands up at and let your cares wash away. The story is straightforward,
the characters aren’t complicated and it’s really a showcase for lush exotic scenery (Tahiti, not
Esther Williams) and very joyous singing, dancing and swimming (some of it synchronized.)

Teeth have never been whiter, smiles have never been brighter or wider and all is right in
paradise. In other words, if you even attempt to dislike this movie, you feel bad about yourself
because the film is so harmless and well-intentioned you start to think of yourself as a hopeless
Scrooge if you don't just go with it and let it make you happy.

Esther Williams is a young girl named Mimi who is thinking of leaving her island paradise when
Howard Keel shows up, a rich guy without a care in the world who just wants to laze around for the
rest of his life. Where he gets his money, I will never know. He starts to fit into Tahiti life, and tries
his hand at the coconut business on his flawless plantation. He’s falling for Mimi and acquiring
some devoted village children along the way.

If ever there was an ideal portrayed on screen, this is it. Everyone gets along, all are happy and
dancing fools. Keel belts out ballads and describes himself in a song as a “troubadour,” while
Williams sings and swims in synchronized formation with a throng of wading islanders. Keel really
pulls out all the stops on his end, bellowing about how great it is to sing in the sun and live in his
bamboo house and mack on Esther Williams. This is one happy guy!

There isn’t a lot of conflict in the story, aside from a brief altercation with a thunderstorm and a lot
of ruined coconuts. Aside from that, it’s really a Technicolor showcase of beaches and singers and
swimming, and it’s all done in the name of high-budget escapism. That’s not a bad thing.

The songs are a bit repetitive, and when I say repetitive, I mean they re-sing them over and over in
the film, especially the one about living in a bamboo house, but I think that’s a convention of the
1950s musical spectacle so I can’t dog the movie too much for it.

A bit of vintage fun and would be of interest to people who like singing, swimming and tropical
beaches. I'm serious people, that's pretty much what this movie is about. There isn't much to it,
and there isn't supposed to be.