Customer Reviews

Legally Blonde 1/2 [Import]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An under achiever (stereotypical blond) played by Reese Witherspoon is dumped by her boyfriend that prefers to marry someone sophisticated and intelligent to further his career. The challenge is to retrieve her lost love at any cost; even if it means having to go law school.

It goes down hill from there as the movie is formal and filled with clichés. There are some interesting side stories but not enough to save from the mediocre main plot. The outcome is not surprising but satisfying.

"Bathing Beauty," is a great movie with esther willams and red Skelton. It's a delightful comedy as well as drama, and has some lovely songs and music in it.

Has there ever been a more beautiful aquatic sight than Esther Williams? In 1944, MGM starred Esther in BATHING BEAUTY, a comedy-musical-aquacade that marked her first leading role (she had played featured roles in two previous films). Esther's beauty and swimming talents made such a striking impression on audiences that she was launched on a ten-year career as a star of lavish Technicolor musicals. These movies were often among the top moneymaking films of the year.

BATHING BEAUTY tells a simple, and silly, story: a college swimming instructor (Williams) has a whirlwind romance with a songwriter (played by top comedian Red Skelton). But a misunderstanding causes her to walk out on their marriage. He follows and enrolls as a student at the women's college where she teaches until they can patch things up.

Much of the footage in BATHING BEUATY is devoted to Skelton's broad comedy antics, and he has some hilarious routines here. One extended sequence shows his participation--complete with pink tutu--in a college eurythmics course. He also leads a lengthy musical number, "I'll Take the High Note," that is a big-band variation on the Scottish folk tune "Loch Lommond"--and that grows funnier and funnier the more it's drawn out.

As with many of the MGM musicals produced by Jack Cummings, there are also musical performances by top bands of the day. Harry James leads his musicians in three numbers, including a wonderful performance of the standard "I Cried for You," with a vocal by Helen Forrest. And Xavier Cugat's orchestra is also on hand (1944 was the height of the U.S.'s "Good Neighbor" policy toward Latin America, after all!). Cugat's vocalist, the piquant and sexy Lina Romay, plays a major role in these numbers, especially in a lavishly staged song-and dance sequence referred to as "that Venezuelan number," whose title is unknown to this reviewer.

Since this was Esther's first starring role, her footage is comparatively brief, and her acting is not as polished as in later films. (Williams herself later laughed at the "eye-popping" acting mannerism she employed here but that vanished by her next performance.) However, as always, she wears her dazzling wardrobe extremely well. And her Olympic-caliber swimming abilities are on excellent display in the film's finale, a huge aquacade number set to the music of Johann Strauss that was staged by famed Broadway director John Murray Anderson.

One disappointment about the print of the film available on this video is that the color is quite faded and hardly gives an accurate impression of the richness of Technicolor photography. The only exception is during the finale, when the images and the color become quite sharp and dazzling. Perhaps this photographic difference was noticeable even in the film's original release; it is possible the final aquacade was photographed by a different cameraman than the rest of the film.

For fans of Esther Williams--and for anyone in the mood for a nostalgic wallow in 1940s movie magic--there is much to enjoy in BATHING BEAUTY.

This period movie from the 40's features a young Esther Williams, Red Skelton and some terrific big band music. The story and much of the acting is not memorable, however there are moments of real entertainment. Red Skelton is a comedy treasure. Foot-tapping songs like Tico-Tico and Harry James solos are a bonus. This was the film that started it all for the [now] classic Ester Williams aquatic dance sequences. For those looking for movies to watch with kids and family, Bathing Beaty offers wide appeal; no language or violence or sexual content. This is a fun way to spend several hours.

... that was how star Basil Rathbone described this turkey to a friend at the time. Having signed a contract with MGM for economic security during the war, Basil found himself loaned out to Universal at a hefty fee (which he never saw) for the Sherlock Holmes films, while his "home" studio threw him into nothing roles in crap like this. Esther Williams made her film debut in Bathing Beauty, and somehow it made her a star... today she'd be lucky to make it beyond ESPN. Red Skelton is, as usual, quite unbearable. Then there's Xavier Cugat. The only virtue of the film is some Technicolor location footage of L.A. in the forties. It's very small consolation indeed.

My father and I have had a blast watching this movie over and over again! Red Skelton is hilarious, and adorable! We're looking forward to buying this video, and others!

I'm a younger generation, but I love this movie. The classics are movies that parents don't have to worry about what there kids see, because nothing in them are bad. This movie is funny and very entertaining at the same time. Skeletons wonderfully funny acts, with Williams great water ballet it all flows together nicely. I think that it really does desserve 5 stars!!

They could have thrown away the script and just kept Skelton's hilarious routines and beautiful Williams' spectacular swimming. Xavier Cugat, his orchestra, pretty girls and Chihuahua are featured, as are virtuoso musical numbers by Harry James and by Ethel Smith. And the musical numbers are not covered by dialogue. See this one for the comedy and the music