Review of High Society

To see a movie more than once is rare for me, and I've watched this movie with great enjoyment a few times. What is the role of a movie? There are many. When I'm feeling blue this kind of movie always makes me feel happy; how can that be a bad thing? The music is simply wonderful, and I'm not really a "musical" fan; its just the sheer talent of Porter, Sinatra, Crosby, and of course Louis; a combination of such talent which you will rarely find. The music is also very skillfully and effortlessly placed into the story line, that you hardly realize it is a "musical". Some social commentary is relevant today, such as the "privileges" of the rich and superficiality of such, and the eternal problem of making bad decisions in marriage. I have a spirited creative friend who is involved with a "stable" secure guy, but remains uncertain and confused as to her reasons for marrying him, apart from the fact that she wants to make him happy, I gather for reasons of guilt about her self-confessed selfishness and need for absolution; Grace Kelly in her role has the same doubts and motives I think and is willing to go through with it for no obvious reason; just because "its there", and the guy is stable but absolutely lacking in spirit and soul. I have another friend who has never considered marriage because she is surrounded by "privileged" people or guys obsessed with money; she believes in 'True Love" and would marry for no other reason no matter the class or financial status of the guy...so these dilemmas are real in the 21st century, so I found the understated attitudes in the film relevant. Of course in those days the films had to have a happy ending; not so in reality, so the escapist element is good for the soul too, especially for a romantic and eternal optimist like myself. The music makes the film, but look for understated social commentary even in those supposedly lightweight plots common in those days.