![]() I feel like pedophilia was not acceptable in the 1950s and yet this film tries to make it seem cute by glossing over the darker implications of this story. This imbalance in their relationship could cause her a lot of emotional distress and I also worry that she will see sex as something that is transactional rather than being an expression of love. I would be more comfortable with their relationship if she were presented as a mature young woman who had the same intellectual capacity as him and could handle taking on the same responsibilities as him, but from what we see and hear, she is too innocent and naïve to properly enter into a long-term relationship. Gaston sees her as desirable because she is so youthful and inexperienced, he wants to recapture his own youth by being with her. It’s also gross that her relatives are basically serving as her pimps and they are forcing her to spend time with Gaston, rather than letting her consider her romantic options or bide her time before committing to somebody when she is an older, wiser woman. I don’t object to prostitution and I think it can be a profession in which people can earn money without being physically or emotionally abused but Gigi is just a child and it is unfair to push her into such a difficult position. We see that she does have a ‘normal’ life outside of being groomed to serve as a courtesan and runs around with other girls her own age but when she comes home, she is expected to entertain older men who view her as a sex object. She has been raised by women who have been used by men and they want to make money out of her. The plot is horrific as it focuses on a vulnerable young girl who is being taking advantage of by everyone around her and we are meant to cheer when she enters into a marriage with an uncaring pedophile. Gigi fits into the latter camp but it is better than other musicals because it is under two hours long and it doesn’t feel pretentious, unlike a certain 1961 classic that I’ll be writing about someday. Yes, there are exceptions as Singin’ in the Rain (1952) has plenty to say but for me, most entries in the genre do end up feeling a bit hollow and they rely on catchy tunes and eye catching visuals to make up for weak scripts that exist to stitch song and dance numbers together. This sounds ridiculous and most people would argue that those three elements serve as the basis of all successful cinema but I feel like most musicals are fairly weak in these areas. ![]() If you are going to enjoy Gigi then you have to disregard the plot, the characters and the themes. Eventually, he relents and they get married so she can ascend into a higher social class. Gaston finds it difficult to admit his feelings for Gigi and she is unwilling to simply be a courtesan. Her grandmother Mamita, Hermione Gingold, has a past with Gaston’s uncle Honore Lachaille, Maurice Chevalier. He finds relief with Gigi, Leslie Caron, a young woman who is learning how to become a courtesan from her great aunt Alicia, Isabel Jeans. When she attempts suicide after he breaks up with her, he becomes more frustrated with his lifestyle. The film concerns Gaston, Louis Jordan, a dissatisfied young playboy whose most recent lover has cheated on him. I am hoping to come to terms with my own complicated thoughts about this film through writing this column, but I may end up attacking AFI voters in the process. ![]() Of course, I feel guilty about loving this film because it doesn’t have a great deal of substance and the message that it does have is disturbingly misogynistic and creepy. As I watched it, I could identify all of the problems that it had but I was oddly charmed by it, I hummed along to some of the music, admired the cinematography and the costuming, and never found myself yawning. I thought I was going to hate it because I tend to be bored by glossy 1950s musicals which are overlong, poorly written, and full of forgettable songs. I feel like it has slipped into obscurity after its Best Picture win in the late 1950s but as somebody who obsessively follows awards, I ended up seeing it and I felt so guilty for enjoying it so much. Of all the movies in the world, you wouldn’t think that Vincente Minnelli’s Gigi (1958) would be the one tearing me apart. As a fan of the romance genre, I expect to love each and every one of the nominees but I also don’t know if I would consider all of them romantic. The list contains the 100 greatest love stories in American cinema and I plan to consider how our views on romance and social issues have changed over the years as well as judge whether the romances in these films actually made me swoon. I will be watching and reviewing all of the films included on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions list.
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