Granted, Easter was yesterday, and I should be celebrating April Fool's like any adult in her early-twenties, but the only prank I could come up with today involved drawing the entire contents of my sister's purse and replacing said contents with said drawings. But she carries a lot of things in her purse. And a few of those are containers for more things. It's a workout just to hand the thing to her when she wants her Chapstick. And besides, April Fool's Day doesn't have a movie with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in a classical trope like in Easter Parade!
You know? That transform a girl to be your dancing partner, so in a year, you can hold your head up high at the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue because your old dancing partner left you shtick? Yeah.
Hm. Maybe I should've just pranked you all and pretended that today was Easter and that was why I was watching this movie again. That way, this blog post (and my own actions) would look a little more timely. Is it too late to do that? Let's just pretend I did.
Ha! Gotcha!
Or not.
Okay, so the movie's sort of classic She's All That and was Pretty Woman before Pretty Woman. But whatever my reason, I just keep watching it. Maybe it's because...
Now, as a child watching this, this spoke volumes, because like Hannah Brown, I had trouble telling the difference between my rights and lefts. I also wanted to be a ballet dancer at this age, so seeing Judy Garland struggle with her dancing career, overcoming this hurdle by using a rubber band on her ankle in one scene (which cuts off her circulation), was extremely humbling to me. Granted, I never actually pursued a ballerina career, but the sentiment was still there.
2. The scene where Hannah tries to get attention.
In one scene, Fred Astaire's character, Don Hewes, wants to test out Hannah's sex appeal to men, so he asks her to walk ahead of him on the sidewalk to gage how many men actually turn around. Unbeknownst to him, she is making this face:
And this convinces him (along with other things) that she has what it takes to be his new dance partner.
This scene has affected me to my adult life, where I sometimes do this while walking, only to laugh at it in my head, then realize that my facial expression is doing the equivalent of outloud behavior. Then I stop.
3. Fred Astaire steps out with his baby.
The song, the dancer, the dance, and did I mention slo-mo? Right. Slo-mo! Like Fred Astaire's dance moves are one of those athletic photos that we take to see how a figure skater achieves a jump and then makes a perfect landing. Well, okay, so it is. And how can you not love the fact that everyone behind him is in normal speed?
As a side note, wasn't there a Chips Ahoy commercial that used this song? Because I really always think of cookies when I hear it.
4. Ann Miller's character has a matching dog for certain outfits.
At least, I think that's what's going on. Apparently, love interests just give Ann Miller puppies in this movie, and she has a small talk with her maid about which suit would go best with it. Hat and everything. But I guess we can admire her for committing to a "look" when she steps out of the front door in the morning.
I also imagine her having a large closet with puppies just hanging out, waiting to be matched to a new outfit.
Don't worry, in my imagination, they're well cared for and happy.
5. Peter Lawford.
Yeah, just Peter Lawford.
Well, okay maybe because of this ultimate meet-cute he has with Judy Garland. And in the rain no less!
So here's a guy who becomes infatuated with you. He walks you all the way to your destination in the rain, serenades you with the most adorable song ever, and she leaves him hanging when he pulls out a pen and paper for her number! Granted, it is a bit creepy and she should be conscious of stranger danger, but come on! He's a doctor who's plum crazy about you!
So you see, while being a highlight of the film, Peter Lawford is also a big objection, mainly because I never felt like his story was resolved. I mean, sure Hannah and Don get a good ending, but what about Peter Lawford? What does he do?
As fun as the love quadrangle* has become, that doesn't mean that these four people have to necessarily end up with only each other. But apparently, that's how it works in old films.
Those fools!
...those April Fools**!
*No really. It's as if there are only four single people in this world, and they can only inter-date with one another. And even then, the options are extremely limited.
**See what I did there? Timely.
**See what I did there? Timely.