Funny Girl

Tags

1960's, Barbra Streisand, Drama, Funny Girl, Kay Medford, Musical, Omar Sharif, Walter Pidgeon, William Wyler

Film Title

Funny Girl

Director

William Wyler

Starring

• Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice
• Omar Sharif as Nick Arnstein
• Kay Medford as Rose Brice
• Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfeld

A colourful and well mounted movie version of the hit play, itself loosely based on the life of comedienne Fanny Brice, Funny Girl launched Barbra Streisand to movie stardom in her debut role( which garnered her an Oscar.) It’s a wonderful showcase for her and despite a lengthy running time, has more than enough virtues, wonderful music and moments of excellence to entrance.

It is the early part of the 20th Century and in New York, Fanny Brice is Jewish girl of modest means but massive dreams to be a star. No matter who tells her that her nose is too big or her legs are too skinny, Fanny strives to attain life on stage with all she’s got. Initially she starts as a bit player on the vaudeville stage, where her lack of classical beauty and awkward movements stand out a lot, but her determination perseveres. Thankfully, during one particular show, her coltish mien and clumsy mannerisms actually endear her to the audience, and she is a resounding hit. Around this time, she also encounters the dashing gambler and businessman Nick Arnstein, who will play an important role in her life in the years to come. With her act growing more popular, she is shocked and excited when she is hired by the legendary Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. Fanny can’t believe her luck at being given the opportunity to become a big star as a Ziegfeld girl. Yet with her comedic timing and need to be funny, she at first rubs Ziegfeld up the wrong way. Later, she takes to stage and re-invents a number in her own cheeky way. Ziegfeld is perturbed but seeing how talented she is, encourages her comedienne act. The attention then turns back to Fanny’s relationship with Nick Arnstein, who sweeps her off her feet after years of brief encounters, resulting in marriage. Passionately in love with Nick, Fanny leaves the Follies to concentrate on her love. Yet the ensuing years reveal cracks in their union as Nick becomes resentful of his run of bad luck and Fanny’s continued success. Getting back into performing yet slowly growing unhappy with events, Fanny sees that life is not always as funny as her act.

William Wyler, a most experienced and versatile director, ably and admirably directs Funny Girl; finely judging the funny and light first half and the later bittersweet and dramatic stages. Wyler finds both happiness and sadness in the tale of Fanny Brice, while allowing the production and acting take the biggest chunk of the pie. Superb production design and simply gorgeous costumes are featured, with all the gloss of an Old Hollywood production. One can see that Funny Girl was definitely a prestige project, owing to its luscious photography, dazzling choreography and of course the music. Though the story can feel like standard rise to the top stuff that’s been done dozens of times, the fact that some of it has basis in reality adds and it carries an emotional undercurrent throughout. Now Funny Girl is by no means flawless, as the midsection drags and starts to strain in comparison with the rest of the story. A tad of editing and trimming may have benefited this half of the movie. Luckily, there are many elements that compensate for those niggles and keep you watching the largely engrossing movie. Chief among these are the delightful musical numbers, performed with gusto and depth largely by Barbra Streisand. She gets into the songs so much, fully living them to the highest degree. From an amusing roller skate sequence to the moving ‘People’ and defiantly show stopping ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’, the musical sections are gorgeous and filled with vitality.

What really makes Funny Girl that something special is the outstanding Barbra Streisand. It’s hard to believe that this was her movie debut because of the confidence and ease with which she plays Fanny Brice. Sure she had played the part on stage and was a legit music star, but cinema is a totally different ball game that Streisand rose to, with Oscar-winning results. Embodying a cheeky, gauche charm that later morphs into sadness and disillusionment as her marriage falls apart and it becomes more difficult to put on a smiley face, Streisand’s commitment and exuberant talent announces itself loud and clear. Expertly funny, unwaveringly purposeful, heartbreaking and with a gorgeously soulful voice, Barbra Streisand earned her Oscar with this stunning performance. Omar Sharif has the required smoothness and ultimate desperation for Nick Arnstein, whose serious gambling problem causes his anger at the way things have turned out. Streisand and Sharif share a very good chemistry, going from charmed and loving to torn apart with conviction. Kay Medford is observant and wise as Fanny’s movie, while the role of Ziegfeld is acted with proper aristocratic ability by Walter Pidgeon. The supporting players do well in their parts, but the film belongs to Barbra Streisand.

A splendidly told musical full of glamour, heart and pangs of sadness, Funny Girl is a bravura film that announces the talents of a legend. It can get long-winded, but the overall dedication of those involved makes Funny Girl a sublime film to enjoy.

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Tags

1990's, Barbra Streisand, Comedy, Drama, George Segal, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, Mimi Rogers, Pierce Brosnan, Romantic Comedy, The Mirror Has Two Faces

Film Title

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Director

Barbra Streisand

Starring

• Barbra Streisand as Rose Morgan
• Jeff Bridges as Gregory Larkin
• Lauren Bacall as Hannah Morgan
• Mimi Rogers as Claire Morgan
• George Segal as Henry Fine
• Pierce Brosnan as Alex

A romantic comedy-drama that has a feeling for old-fashioned films of the genre yet infused with something modern, The Mirror Has Two Faces has humour and heart to be taken from it. The middle part is slow and overindulged in a couple of missteps, but the overall package of the film, under the clear command of both director and star Barbra Streisand crafts an often touching and funny tale of relationships.

Rose Morgan is a dowdy, middle-aged professor of English Literature at Columbia University who often talks about grand romance and passion. The irony is that Rose has neither of them but really would like them, she just hasn’t had any luck in relationships. Living at home with her overbearing and vain mother Hannah is no help either as her mother is a woman who always feels the need to do her daughter down. And to top it off, Rose’s pretty sister Claire has just got married to the hunky Alex, who Rose has carried a torch for since the moment they met. Gregory Larkin also teaches at Columbia University though he is in the maths department and doesn’t quite have the ability to connect with his class that Rose does. He has come to the conclusion that he can’t function if in any sort of romantic or sexual relationship as he appears to lose his head. He puts and ad in the paper for a relationship that is intellectual rather than lustful. Through the intervention of Claire, Rose and Gregory meet and somehow hit it off. She impresses him with her self-deprecating wit and intellect, while she likes that he has taken an interest in her as no one in the past really has this much and no one quite as dashing either. After a few mix ups, the two pursue a platonic union that seems to work for both of them as it provides stimulating company and both of them can be themselves around the other. A few months into this, Gregory proposes much to the surprise of Rose, who knows that the marriage would be one without physical intimacy. Perhaps out of fear that she’ll be left on the shelf forever, Rose accepts his offer and the two marry. As time goes on, Rose begins to develop deep romantic affections for Gregory and this puts a strain on what is supposed to be a chaste meeting of minds rather than bodies. When she attempts to seduce him, Gregory rejects her as he doesn’t want sex to complicate what has become a pleasing companionship and goes on a teaching tour around Europe. Rose is then left to choose whether she should still pursue a potential reunion with Gregory or make some sort of change.

Taking the director’s seat, Barbra Streisand shows of yet more of her talent by giving perceptive and inviting direction to The Mirror Has Two Faces. She covers themes of self-worth and beauty in it, and while during the middle section where Rose has a makeover she jeopardizes some of what she’s been getting across, she brings it all back together for a lovely home stretch as Rose and Gregory have to acknowledge their feelings. Having starred herself in many romantic comedies in the past, the genre has obviously rubbed off on her and the result is a film constructed with attention and care for the genre it is in. Some will dismiss the film as a vanity project and simply just The Streisand Show, but dig deeper and there’s genuine emotion to be found there as well as a crackling script of funny characters. Streisand shows her confidence behind the camera as well as in front and makes the procedure both humorous and delightful. The Mirror Has Two Faces succeeds due to its throwback nature and moments that bring to mind 50’s romantic comedies. Scenes like the awkward meeting of the two are her attempt at a seduction have a feeling of yesteryear to them, but also benefit from modern values too. The film loses steam in the middle section and gets a bit bogged down in an abundance of gloss, at least it regains footing near the end and doesn’t do too much damage to a well-crafted flick. A lush sweeping score harks from Marvin Hamlisch harks back to the glory days of the romance picture with strings and woodwind as the perfect backdrop for this throwback picture.

As well as sitting in the director’s chair(and doing a fine job in that department), Barbra Streisand also contributes an amusing yet sympathetic performance as the lovelorn Rose, entering into a platonic marriage yet secretly desiring grand passion. Streisand breathes life into a woman who has a low self-esteem yet a good sense of humour that hides insecurity. Exuding kooky mannerisms and an articulate mind, Barbra Streisand marvellously makes Rose a character to root for and be charmed by along the way. Jeff Bridges provides superb humour as the somewhat bumbling and talkative Gregory, who believes that his theory of a union without the complication of sexual feelings or romance will work, but is challenged when Rose wants more than just companionship. Bridges has a real knack for laughs that is apparent here and by giving the part fastidious tendencies as well as awkwardness, he is a joy to watch. It must be said that the way that Streisand and Bridges bounce off each other is quite something and has that snap that old romantic comedies of the 40’s and 50’s had. Lauren Bacall flat-out steals The Mirror Has Two Faces however, with a sharp turn as Rose’s disagreeable and looks obsessed mother Hannah. With acerbic drawl, Bacall marvellously plays this matriarchal diva as something of a vain Medusa with all the best lines and withering put downs. Yet I have to give credit to Bacall for also injecting touches of vulnerability to the part that show that Hannah is not as bitchy or as harsh as her exterior would suggest. It’s a true supporting turn that is great to behold whenever Bacall takes the screen. Mimi Rogers is fine as the foxy glamour puss sister, while although only seen briefly, George Segal is a hoot as a friend of Gregory’s with a roving eye. The only person to not really make an impact is Pierce Brosnan as Rose’s brother-in-law, though the blame can’t be put at the door of Brosnan because the character is lazily written.

Its main message can get jumbled amid the gloss and the latter stages could have had some trimming to make them slightly tighter, yet The Mirror Has Two Faces brims with such beaming love, awkward romance and surprisingly moving moments that it’s flaws can be passed over because of how well it all turns out. And the well assembled cast and illustrious director/star of Barbra Streisand are even more reason to seek this film out.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Tags

1970's, Barbra Streisand, Fantasy, Jack Nicholson, Larry Blyden, Musical, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Romance, Vincente Minnelli, Yves Montand

Film Title

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Director

Vincente Minnelli

Starring

• Barbra Streisand as Daisy Gamble/ Lady Melinda Tentrees
• Yves Montand as Dr. Marc Chabot
• Larry Blyden as Warren
• Jack Nicholson as Tad

An unusual and visually opulent musical/ romantic fantasy, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is an oddity, but a visually entrancing one that has a dream like effect and Barbra Streisand to boot.

Daisy Gamble is a scatterbrained, kooky New Yorker who seems to possess strange gifts. For example, she can tell when a phone is about to ring and can cause flowers to grow wildly. Though because she is more than a bit absent-minded, she puts these powers down to nothing and doesn’t give them much thought. While Daisy is slightly zany, she has a priggish fiancée named Warren who always wants to make an impression and chides Daisy for some of her behaviour, particularly her chain-smoking. He suggests she find someone to help curb her habit before an important party they must attend. One day she wanders into a lecture on hypnosis by Dr. Marc Chabot and is herself briefly put under it. Chabot grows curious about Daisy and is interested when she comes to him to help with her habit. He organizes to see Daisy but what he finds while she in under hypnosis is more than he bargained for. Daisy regresses back to what appears to be a past life of hers; Lady Melinda Tentrees, a coquette in 18th Century England who used her charms to climb the ladder and was later put on trial for her supposed misdeeds. At first, Marc thinks that these talks of a past life are fabricated, but soon begins to come around to the idea. Marc doesn’t tell her about what she has said and due to his skill with hypnosis makes sure she doesn’t know about her talks of this past life. Could Daisy genuinely be a reincarnation of Melinda? And what about the complicated feelings that both Marc and Daisy develop? These emotions are given added strangeness by the fact that has been bewitched by Melinda and Daisy becoming attracted to.

Vincente Minnelli exudes his customary and exceptional meticulousness in the director’s chair, particularly when it comes to the dreamlike fantasy aspects of this movie. He’s a director whose work comes alive with colourful plushness from every angle. Minnelli excels best in the regression sequences, accentuating colour with expressive camerawork and eye-catching movements. It’s impossible not to watch open-mouthed at the decorative splendour, embodied through luscious lighting and  beautiful costume design. One special costume deserves considerable mention; a lovely bejeweled gown with a matching headdress that is captured in splendid beauty by the cameras and direction. And the film is given a boost by the fact that Minnelli having had experience in musicals before, is a natural when it comes to the music numbers, which are done with pleasing panache. The standouts are the title song played over psychedelic visuals, the alluring ‘Love With all the Trimmings’ sung by Streisand in her marvellous voice and ‘Come Back to Me’ which Marc sings when he finds his worlds merging with Daisy’s and her past lives. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever has its fair share of flaws though. Some of the techniques used seriously date the film and become jarring as it progresses. The film could have been could a bit more coherent and sharper as the second half gets very bogged down with explanations, too much finery and needless scenes that fail to give a grasp to the blooming romances. Also, the sub plot of Marc’s talks with Daisy getting public notice and provoking controversy is a pretty needless avenue to go down. Despite these flaws, On a Clear Day has enough unusualness and style to appreciate it and forgive the sometimes wayward editing and choppy pacing that show the film’s age .

Barbra Streisand showcases her talents for both singing and acting here, and boy does she know how to put a show on. In this film, she really displays her gifts for entertaining with a set of performances that are funny, charming and kooky. And the fact that Streisand plays two distinctly different characters( a free-spirited and strangely dressed young woman and an elegant, beguiling flirt who rose through English society) so well, is a big sign of her undeniable talents as a performer and actress. Streisand is one of On a Clear Day’s biggest attributes and she is hard to forget. Yves Montand has the necessary bewilderment and curiosity for his role as he finds his views on reincarnation altered drastically. Yet Larry Blyden is introduced to late as Daisy’s pushy fiancée to really make a mark on the story. Movie buffs should look out for a young Jack Nicholson as Daisy’s laid-back step brother. It’s a small role, but any Jack Nicholson is better than none.

Flaws aside regarding the pacing and slow second half, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever has plenty of flourishes from director Vincente Minnelli and delightful energy from the indomitable Barbra Streisand to make it a strange but intoxicating musical fantasy.

Who are your favourite singers who have acted in a movie?

Tags

Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby, Cher, Frank Sinatra

Another question post. In this one, I’m asking which singers who have turned their attention to the big screen your favourites. There have been many cases of singers trying to act and the result isn’t anything special. But there have also been cases of singers succeeding in their attempts of silver screen stardom. So have a thing about which one’s you think have achieved this feat.

If anyone out there is struggling to think of any, here are some that have attained success in both fields;

Cher- The flamboyant and ever-present Cher proved herself as a capable actress in the 80’s with well received performances in Silkwood and her Oscar-winning role in Moonstruck.

 

 

Frank Sinatra- This Rat Pack member obtained an Oscar for his role in From Here to Eternity and established himself as a capable actor in further films.

 

 

 

Bing Crosby- This crooner won an Oscar for his performance in Going My Way and proved his dramatic skills in future efforts.

 

 

 

Barbra Streisand- The multi-talented Streisand won acclaim both for her musical ventures and performance in the musical Funny Girl.