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Funny Face, 1957
Jo (Audrey Hepburn) is a young woman who works in a bookstore and is interested in philosophy. When fashion editor Maggie (Kay Thompson) and her chief photographer Dick (Fred Astaire) take over the bookstore for a photo shoot, they “discover” Jo and decide to make her the face of their new campaign. Jo’s reluctance to get involved in the fashion industry is complicated by her growing feelings for Dick and the opportunity to travel abroad.
A sparkling performance from Hepburn and some snazzy visuals don’t quite overcome a ho-hum plot.
There is a scene in this film where Hepburn’s Jo, dressed all in black, does an absolutely hilarious interpretive dance in a Parisian cafe. And I can safely say that if the whole film had that same mischievous, goofy humor, I would have loved it.
But for the most part, I found myself pretty immune to the charms of this film. At every turn it seemed to have something that rubbed me the wrong way. Naturally the very premise of “woman needs a man to tell her she’s pretty” is kind of eye-roll-inducing, especially when the woman in question is Audrey Hepburn. The sequence where the magazine crew just rolls into the bookstore, manhandles Jo, kicks her out, and then trashes the place was borderline offensive as a person and a book lover.
A movie where Audrey Hepburn models different wacky outfits should be an easy sell, but the attempts at character work end up being the opposite of charming. Jo is deeply interested in philosophy, and the movie seems to go out of its way to show that this interest is naive and that there is no such thing as a serious study of it. The writers Jo admires all turn out to be parasites or lechers, and the overall framing leads to the idea that fashion saves her from this preoccupation. Sorry, allow me to rephrase. Jo is saved from all that hard thinking by Dick. Cool.
Astaire is a charming, personable actor, but at this point in time he looks even older than the 30 years that are between him and Hepburn. We’re meant to admire his character because he sees something in Jo, but . . . duh. It’s Audrey Hepburn, so him noticing that she’s kind of hot and kind of interesting isn’t all that endearing. After he and his crew trash her bookstore, he kisses her without asking, and because it’s in the script it’s a transformative moment for her instead of just a further violation of her space and person.
I’m somewhat agnostic when it comes to musicals, but there wasn’t much here for me. Hepburn’s interpretive dance is a winner, and the song “S’Wonderful” is memorable. At this point, a ways out from the film, I couldn’t name or hum any other music from the movie.
Maybe my expectations were too high for this one. I did get Hepburn in some swanky clothes, after all.
Funny Face, 1957
Jo (Audrey Hepburn) is a young woman who works in a bookstore and is interested in philosophy. When fashion editor Maggie (Kay Thompson) and her chief photographer Dick (Fred Astaire) take over the bookstore for a photo shoot, they “discover” Jo and decide to make her the face of their new campaign. Jo’s reluctance to get involved in the fashion industry is complicated by her growing feelings for Dick and the opportunity to travel abroad.
A sparkling performance from Hepburn and some snazzy visuals don’t quite overcome a ho-hum plot.
There is a scene in this film where Hepburn’s Jo, dressed all in black, does an absolutely hilarious interpretive dance in a Parisian cafe. And I can safely say that if the whole film had that same mischievous, goofy humor, I would have loved it.
But for the most part, I found myself pretty immune to the charms of this film. At every turn it seemed to have something that rubbed me the wrong way. Naturally the very premise of “woman needs a man to tell her she’s pretty” is kind of eye-roll-inducing, especially when the woman in question is Audrey Hepburn. The sequence where the magazine crew just rolls into the bookstore, manhandles Jo, kicks her out, and then trashes the place was borderline offensive as a person and a book lover.
A movie where Audrey Hepburn models different wacky outfits should be an easy sell, but the attempts at character work end up being the opposite of charming. Jo is deeply interested in philosophy, and the movie seems to go out of its way to show that this interest is naive and that there is no such thing as a serious study of it. The writers Jo admires all turn out to be parasites or lechers, and the overall framing leads to the idea that fashion saves her from this preoccupation. Sorry, allow me to rephrase. Jo is saved from all that hard thinking by Dick. Cool.
Astaire is a charming, personable actor, but at this point in time he looks even older than the 30 years that are between him and Hepburn. We’re meant to admire his character because he sees something in Jo, but . . . duh. It’s Audrey Hepburn, so him noticing that she’s kind of hot and kind of interesting isn’t all that endearing. After he and his crew trash her bookstore, he kisses her without asking, and because it’s in the script it’s a transformative moment for her instead of just a further violation of her space and person.
I’m somewhat agnostic when it comes to musicals, but there wasn’t much here for me. Hepburn’s interpretive dance is a winner, and the song “S’Wonderful” is memorable. At this point, a ways out from the film, I couldn’t name or hum any other music from the movie.
Maybe my expectations were too high for this one. I did get Hepburn in some swanky clothes, after all.