Singin' In the Rain is sacred to me. It is my pick-me-up movie. In my freshman year funk of depression, this No. 1 musical of all time was the one thing that could always cheer me up. I can't help but smile when I observe the absolute passion Gene Kelly and company put into this work of art.
Despite the fact that he died before I was ever aware of his talents, I've been in love with Gene Kelly since I was about 12. My best friend Katie and I could quote the dialogue back and sing you the lyrics to any of its songs. The wallpaper on my old lappie (may it rest in peace) was a picture of Gene Kelly in a sailor suit ala Anchors Aweigh.
Because it's such a recognizable, influential film, I can see why other people in show business would want to pay homage to it. But, nothing I've seen has been worthy.
Last year, JGL (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) tried to recreate "Make 'Em Laugh" during his SNL monologue. It was Okaaaaay. I'm only giving it a pass because it was JGL.
Then, Glee dedicated an entire episode to Singin' (the one with Gwyneth). Watching "Make 'Em Laugh" with Mr. Shue and "other Asian kid" was upsetting. I could see they were glee-full about the number, but they lacked that certain something that only Donald O'Connor could capture. He was a wiry, rubber-faced man with great tap skills. And nobody else can quite make me laugh the same way.
Glee also mashed up the title song with "Umbrella." I love me some Rihanna, but mixing "Umbrella-ella-ella-ella-ayyyy" with "Singin' In the Rain" doesn't work for me. The original is so classic. So effortlessly easy sounding. And damn if that isn't one of the best dance sequences EVER. Please don't try to recreate it. You will embarrass yourself.
And now, insult of all insults. Volkswagen launched a campaign in 2006 featuring tweaked footage of Kelly dancing iconic sequences from the movie. First they rolled out a reproduction of the title number, where something was a little off. Kelly was doing isolations and crazy legs. Apparently, three different hip-hop dancers reinterpreted his moves with a mask on upon which Kelly's face was superimposed.
Last month, VW premiered a Jetta commercial along the same lines. The second ad shows a segment of O'Connor and Kelly's "Moses" tap, except that they are sitting in the backseat of a Jetta, demonstrating how much leg room the new model has. Please stop using my beloved movie to sell cars.
Can't people just leave good enough (or great!) alone?
2 comments:
Oh my God! I'm also a huge Gene Kelly Singing In the Rain fan. I think I even once blogged about the sacreligious VW commercial a few years back.
Have you seen Usher's "Singin' in the Rain"? He performed it for some awards show, I forget what. Not bad. The only "tribute" that wasn't as upsetting.
I saw that too. Since Usher's such a good dancer and it was an award show, I let that one slip.
We obviously need to have a musical night.
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