High Society not all the rage

Musical rework of classic leaves much to desire

As remakes go, High Society would have been better left unmade. A musical reworking of the Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart classic The Philadelphia Story, High Society lacks its predecessor's charm and class in all but two things: Sinatra and Armstrong.

The problems start with the script. The Philadelphia Story was intelligently written, romantic and funny; if only it converted better into song. More than script technicalities, the actors' caricatured performances prevent the material from having any emotional accessibility, the romance just isn't romantic.

Grace Kelley attacked her part by hiding her emotions behind a pseudo-sophisticated sounding drawl. This is Kelley's last performance before leaving the screen for a royal marriage. She is lucky that the perfect job existed for her, one in which she could look good and not have to talk.

Maybe Kelley's facial expressions were meant to convey her emotions, but the audience is denied any physical intimacy with the characters by a camera unwilling to break from its medium length shot. Any romantic glimpses, wistful looks, or passionate embraces which normally characterize romances are lost through the stagnant cinematography.

Even more surprising than the camera's distance from the actors, is the distance which the actors keep from one another. Embraces between the romantically involved characters are few and far between and seem stiffly passionateless.

The movie picks up energy when it hits a musical number, yet overall these are lacking in quantity and quality. Bing Crosby deserves a sympathetic laugh for his attempts to skat some jazz, and his dreamy song of romance on the ocean makes one wish the boat would have sunk. High Society can only be saved by Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong.

Armstrong, though out of place within the narrative and the environment of the film, breathes refreshing life into the soundtrack with his renditions of Cole Porter tunes. Sinatra is the only actor of the cast who seems to have any energy or enthusiasm for the project, he delivers his lines with suave romantic appeal and rambunctious humor. His voice is the highlight of the soundtrack, and the duet between Sinatra and Crosby is perhaps the only scene which gathers any cinematic steam.

Perhaps the fault of this project was in attempting to convert the wonderful Philadelphia Story into a musical, or maybe the emphasis on stars with big names and little talent was what held this movie back from becoming engaging on any level.

There is no one problem with this film, the technical, narrative and character problems make the romance frustrating, humor pathetic and the viewing experience painful. Only Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong have powerful enough personas to bridge the gap between the movie and the viewer, and extend their vivacity to the audience.

Perhaps this Sunday night would be a better time to catch up on homework, instead of testing your patience with such a frustratingly poor film.