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Two Weeks with Love
Another offering from MGM's golden age of musicals, 1950's Two Weeks with Love is best known for one musical number, but it actually has a few other things going for it.
This turn of the century slice of Americana centers on the Robinson family who spend two weeks every summer at a resort in the Catskills where elder daughter Patti (Jane Powell) is pursued by the owner's geeky son, Billy (Carleton Carpenter) but only has eyes for a dashing Cuban playboy (Ricardo Montalban) who is also being pursued by Patti's snooty BFF (Phyllis Kirk). Throw into the mix Patti's younger sister, Melba (Debbie Reynolds) who is crazy about Billy and the girls' parents (Louis Calhern, Ann Harding) whose differing views about how grown Patti is finds them arguing over whether she is old enough for a corset, and you have all the ingredients for this amusing musical romp.
This film didn't do big box office back in 1950 and something tells me it might have had something to do with the leading man. Montalban just seemed out of place here and it was hard to reconcile myself with a rich Cuban playboy in the 1950's showing up at a resort in the Catskills at the turn of the century when this story takes place, much less in the 1950's. It is addressed discreetly during Montalban's first entrance into the resort dining where everyone stops what they're doing to stare at him. Montalban also appears to be at least a decade older than Powell, adding a slight "ick" factor to the relationship. Montalban's character even mentions at one point that Patti is a child but it doesn't stop his pursuit of her either.
If you can roll with all of this, there is some fun here watching the accustomed romantic complications we're used to in MGM musicals. It is fun watching poor Debbie Reynolds chasing around the clueless Carpenter who only has eyes for her big sister. Reynolds and Carpenter do give this film its place in musical history with their rendition of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon", pretty much the only thing people remember this film for.
Powell does have a couple of nice solos like "Oceana Roll" and "My Hero" and Louis Calhern is lots of fun as the girls' bewildered father and the gangly Carpenter was adorable. I was a little disappointed with the staging of the musical numbers since the opening credits revealed that Busby Berkeley was the choreographer. I expected more lavish musical sequences from Berkeley but I guess it wasn't that kind of story. MGM has definitely done better films, but if you liked A Date with Judy...
Another offering from MGM's golden age of musicals, 1950's Two Weeks with Love is best known for one musical number, but it actually has a few other things going for it.
This turn of the century slice of Americana centers on the Robinson family who spend two weeks every summer at a resort in the Catskills where elder daughter Patti (Jane Powell) is pursued by the owner's geeky son, Billy (Carleton Carpenter) but only has eyes for a dashing Cuban playboy (Ricardo Montalban) who is also being pursued by Patti's snooty BFF (Phyllis Kirk). Throw into the mix Patti's younger sister, Melba (Debbie Reynolds) who is crazy about Billy and the girls' parents (Louis Calhern, Ann Harding) whose differing views about how grown Patti is finds them arguing over whether she is old enough for a corset, and you have all the ingredients for this amusing musical romp.
This film didn't do big box office back in 1950 and something tells me it might have had something to do with the leading man. Montalban just seemed out of place here and it was hard to reconcile myself with a rich Cuban playboy in the 1950's showing up at a resort in the Catskills at the turn of the century when this story takes place, much less in the 1950's. It is addressed discreetly during Montalban's first entrance into the resort dining where everyone stops what they're doing to stare at him. Montalban also appears to be at least a decade older than Powell, adding a slight "ick" factor to the relationship. Montalban's character even mentions at one point that Patti is a child but it doesn't stop his pursuit of her either.
If you can roll with all of this, there is some fun here watching the accustomed romantic complications we're used to in MGM musicals. It is fun watching poor Debbie Reynolds chasing around the clueless Carpenter who only has eyes for her big sister. Reynolds and Carpenter do give this film its place in musical history with their rendition of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon", pretty much the only thing people remember this film for.
Powell does have a couple of nice solos like "Oceana Roll" and "My Hero" and Louis Calhern is lots of fun as the girls' bewildered father and the gangly Carpenter was adorable. I was a little disappointed with the staging of the musical numbers since the opening credits revealed that Busby Berkeley was the choreographer. I expected more lavish musical sequences from Berkeley but I guess it wasn't that kind of story. MGM has definitely done better films, but if you liked A Date with Judy...