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Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
In this biographical musical, George Cohan (James Cagney) navigates the theatrical life from child stardom to producing his own musicals.
It's never a good thing--to me--when a film claiming to be biographical decides to take rampant liberties with the truth in order to drum up drama. But this film shows that the opposite can be true. Pretty much every hint of difficulty or conflict seems to resolve itself in about five minutes, and you could say "And everything was fine" after just about every moment of drama.
There are some fun musical numbers in the first third of the film as Cohan is making his rise through the industry, striking out on his own after his abrasive personality alienates the audience of his family's show.
But what's missing from this movie is heart. Cagney is fine in the lead role when it comes to the acting and the dancing, but his singing style is the good old speak-singing thing. This feels especially problematic when the people around him are out and out singing their parts.
I suppose the details of Cohan's life would be interesting to a fan of Broadway shows, but there wasn't much to hold me to the story. Cohan's life is never particularly difficult. The worst thing that happens to him is that he's a huge jerk and people don't want to work with him. But then he, you know, matures and that isn't a problem anymore. His relationship with his wife, Mary (Joan Leslie) is untroubled, as is his relationship with his family.
Having to cover the entirety of Cohan's life means taking big leaps in time and resolving situations in a matter of minutes. There's a lot of telling instead of showing. Nowhere is this more evident than in a late sequence where Cohan wins a Congressional Medal of Honor. We are shown a close up of the medal as the inscription is read aloud. Then the man presenting it to him ---the President!--gives a pat few lines about how patriotic music is just as powerful as any weapon.
This is by no means a slam on Cohan himself, who it sounds like worked hard and excelled in his profession. I did like a sequence where Cohan finds a parade singing one of his songs as they march.
I don't know. Overall this one just left me a bit cold.
Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
In this biographical musical, George Cohan (James Cagney) navigates the theatrical life from child stardom to producing his own musicals.
It's never a good thing--to me--when a film claiming to be biographical decides to take rampant liberties with the truth in order to drum up drama. But this film shows that the opposite can be true. Pretty much every hint of difficulty or conflict seems to resolve itself in about five minutes, and you could say "And everything was fine" after just about every moment of drama.
There are some fun musical numbers in the first third of the film as Cohan is making his rise through the industry, striking out on his own after his abrasive personality alienates the audience of his family's show.
But what's missing from this movie is heart. Cagney is fine in the lead role when it comes to the acting and the dancing, but his singing style is the good old speak-singing thing. This feels especially problematic when the people around him are out and out singing their parts.
I suppose the details of Cohan's life would be interesting to a fan of Broadway shows, but there wasn't much to hold me to the story. Cohan's life is never particularly difficult. The worst thing that happens to him is that he's a huge jerk and people don't want to work with him. But then he, you know, matures and that isn't a problem anymore. His relationship with his wife, Mary (Joan Leslie) is untroubled, as is his relationship with his family.
Having to cover the entirety of Cohan's life means taking big leaps in time and resolving situations in a matter of minutes. There's a lot of telling instead of showing. Nowhere is this more evident than in a late sequence where Cohan wins a Congressional Medal of Honor. We are shown a close up of the medal as the inscription is read aloud. Then the man presenting it to him ---the President!--gives a pat few lines about how patriotic music is just as powerful as any weapon.
This is by no means a slam on Cohan himself, who it sounds like worked hard and excelled in his profession. I did like a sequence where Cohan finds a parade singing one of his songs as they march.
I don't know. Overall this one just left me a bit cold.