#90: Swing Time (1936)

Oscar Winner:

Best Music, Original Song - “The Way You Look Tonight”

Any film history course will no doubt mention Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in its lectures. They are a genre unto themselves and probably have influenced everything from early musicals to today’s dance flicks. Even with this knowledge, I had never seen one of their films. That’s what I love about this list... it’s been forcing me to see films that I need to have under my belt to even consider myself a film guru.

To make up for his tardiness to his own wedding, Lucky Garnett (Astaire) travels with his best buddy, Pop, to New York to earn $25K to gain his future father-in-law’s trust in his ability to provide for his daughter. Along the way he stumbles into a perfect dancing partnership with Penny (Rogers). Together they take New York’s night club scene by storm, and as they draw closer together, both are put in situations that force them to choose between former loves or each other.

Although the plot doesn’t blow you away, Swing Time is pure entertainment through and through. It never takes itself too seriously and the comedy here is truly funny, and to my delight, very offbeat at times. Astaire and Rogers are amazing together, especially in the dance scenes. What I found surprising was how much Astaire stood out next to Rogers. Despite the fact that he’s a pretty normal looking guy (especially when he’s next to his beautiful dance partner), his charm and wit match that of George Clooney. There were several scenes that just feature him and you forget about Rogers completely, which truly shocked me.

Swing Time very much feels like its age, which is both a good and a bad thing. I could easily see much of the younger generation getting bored by this film. Not that it’s slow, but the humor and tone may be lost on them. If one doesn’t enjoy the classics, I would be hard pressed to convince them to watch this one. Originality doesn’t really seep from its scenes, but is nature is so light-hearted and fun, I don’t know how somebody could not enjoy it.

I’m really glad I got a chance to see the magic and chemistry that is Astaire and Rogers. So, next time I see Zac Efron dancing the hallways in High School Musical, I can be justified in scoffing at the screen.

I give Swing Time 3.5 out of 5 tailored pants.