Despite a 100% Certified Fresh rating and a prominent position on numerous "best films of all time" lists, I didn't think I'd like this. While I do enjoy musicals, a dance-heavy film full of old-Hollywood flash isn't my cup of tea. Thus, I scheduled it for Valentine's Day week to make a date-night of it with Cindy; I figured, even if it wasn't "my thing", I could at least get brownie-points with my lady. But, man did I like it! Well written, funny, and you can't help but hum out those classic tunes long after the film is done.
"Singin' in the Rain" is a story about love and about perspective. Where I expected the titular song to be mere shallow lyrics, subservient to the classic tap sequence, I found the allegory that the entire film is hinged upon: the ability to find enjoyment (and even solutions) in misfortune and chaos. It's a great life lesson and one that is demonstrated with charm, cheer, and a tremendous amount of effort by Kelly, Reynolds, and O'Conner.
The songs were fun and the dancing was cool. I will acknowledge the one spot where the film lost me a bit was in its longest and most abstract dance sequence, "The Broadway Ballet". At nearly 14 minutes, it just went on too long and in a way that didn't serve the story well. Knowing that Co-Director/Star Gene Kelly was a dancer before all else, it seemed self-indulgent. Again, it could just be me hating on ballet, but I would consider Mary Poppins' "Step in Time" to be a better example of 'long-ass dance sequence in a third act'.
Still, I left yet another film in this series with a great sense of enjoyment and, despite my patent pessimism, a well needed lesson in optimism. I suppose that's why one watches the most classic Hollywood Musical of all time!