That's Entertainment (1974)

 

Synopsis: Hollywood’s favourite old farts fondly remember the days when MGM wasn’t on the verge of bankruptcy

Blurb From the VHS jacket: “Modern movie audiences embraced it as enthusiastically as modern critics, making That’s Entertainment! One of the most surprising box office giants of recent times” 

What Did I Learn?: According to Jimmy Stewart, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the studios forced dramatic actors into singing-and-dancing roles they weren’t prepared to handle, so most of the earliest musicals in the 1930s kinda sucked. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You really want to sing along to a great show biz tune. 

Really?: For a documentary, That’s Entertainment doesn’t actually tell us all much about the period in question, or the making of those musicals. 

Rating: That’s Entertainment provides an enjoyable, but not terribly educational look at the famous MGM musicals of the 1930s-50s, as well as the 1970s nostalgia for that period. Personally, I think That’s Entertainment could have been made more interesting if its many guest stars had provided a bit more analysis or little-known information (Stewart’s commentary stands out that way) rather than simply set the audience up for a series of song-and-dance numbers, but that’s just my preference. I certainly have to applaud director Jack Haley for a masterful editing job. 8/10 stars.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072272/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Boss of Bosses (2001)

 

Please click the link to read my review of Donnie Brasco; this film takes place shortly after the events of that movie. 

Synopsis: Wise, compassionate and grandfatherly godfather gradually forgets that his colleagues are a bunch of violent sociopaths. 

Blurb From the DVD jacket: “Based on the true story of real-life Godfather Paul Castellano” 

What Did I Learn?: Threatening to give the other guy a knuckle sandwich can be an effective negotiating tactic. 

You Might Like This Movie If: you've always wondered what makes a Boss tick. 

Really?: 1) I realize it’s generally accepted - even by their wives - that gangsters are expected to have mistresses on the side, but bedding the family’s maid, and even bringing her on a trip to Florida struck me a bad idea for whole bunch of reasons. 2) Holy shit, why does Castellano exit his limousine moments after he’s been shot? Any rationally-thinking human being would play dead, not telegraph to his assassins that they need to pump more lead into his body. 3) So, why did Castellano and his wife drift apart? They’re clearly very much in love in the early sequences, and there isn’t much discussion or explanation for why they’re sleeping in separate bedrooms in the early 1980s. 

Rating: Boss of Bosses is a very humdrum made-for-TV gangster drama that features a pretty good performance from Chazz Palminteri and not much else. The biggest problem I had with Boss of Bosses is that it lionizes Castellano; he seems like a pretty nice guy, all things considered, and the audience never gets to see how power might have corrupted him over time. 6/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205782/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

 

Please click the link to read my review of A Clockwork Orange - another film that utilized Gene Kelly’s recording of “Singin’ in the Rain” (and from what I gather, Kelly was seriously pissed off about it) 

Synopsis: Light-hearted look at the late-1920s transition between silent pictures and talkies is repeatedly interrupted by song-and-dance numbers that distract from the narrative. 

Blurb From the VHS jacket: “It remains one of the finest and most beloved musicals ever to come out of Hollywood” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) If we bring a little joy into our humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain’t been in vain for nothin’. 2) Short people have long faces, and long people have short faces. Big people have little humour, and little people have no humour at all. 3) Dignity. Always dignity. 4) You have to show a movie at a party. It’s a Hollywood law. 5) The show must go on. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You're a sucker for songs about rain. 

Really?: That whole Broadway Melody sequence features a lot of great singing and dancing, but it doesn’t really fit the rest of the movie.

Rating: I’m not a huge fan of musicals, but you have to love Singin’ in the Rain, mostly because it’s funny, it examines an interesting period of the film industry (see: “Synopsis”), but it never takes itself too seriously, and it features some incredible singing and dancing numbers including Gene Kelly doing the title song and Donald O’Connor’s “Make ‘Em Laugh” that must be seen to be believed. My only complaint would be that the picture drags a little in the middle and the Broadway Melody clip could have been cut. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045152/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0