The film revolves around the depression and the hard times affecting citizens of the United States. The thing that struck me the most was how the film began and finished. The opening scene was of Fay singing "We're in the Money" and rehearsing with the cast for the opening of the play. During rehearsal the police come in and reposes the costumes and props because the producer hasn't paid his bill yet. The film then turns to following the lives of three women, Polly, Carol and Trixie who work in the theater business and the hardships they go through in order to obtain and keep work. The film then turns to the three women getting revenge against the social elite who think they're nothing but gold diggers and parasites. The end of the movie ends in happiness with all three women finding love with the social elitist men who changed their minds about the generalizations they had made about the women previously. The final scene of the film is a scene from the play in which the "forgotten men" are portrayed and highlights the end of the depression that the beginning of the film hinted at.
Overall I really liked the film even though the character development was rather weak and the plays within the film were kind of confusing. The main themes of the movie captured my attention and I really enjoyed that it was made during the depression and highlighted some of the important issues and struggles facing people during the era.
I also found it interesting that the director had the film begin and end in the same depressing light by showing how much of a struggle it was to live during the depression. Although the song in the beginning of the film was much more upbeat, it was stopped half-way through because the show was being shut down due to the depression/lack of funds. The song in the end was much more depressing, but really tied the movie together because it clearly depicted how difficult life was at that time.
ReplyDeleteI also found that interesting. It started out in such a positive way saying they were all on top and life couldn't be better, but then during the rehersal she was interupted and brought back to reality when they came in to seize the items that were being used in the production. I think it was an appropriate way to incorporate the hard times and have people brought back down to reality. Throughout the film there was an emphasis on the worth of everything and its value, but sometimes people let their things and belonging get in the way of reality and what is really important.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit on some of the reasons that it's difficult to write a light musical comedy about such a serious issue, Stephanie.
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