There is nothing I love more than a good movie musical. It’s a genre that portrays the world the way it feels rather than the way it actually is. Emotions are high, stakes are elevated, true love is communicated with fluttering high notes — what’s not to love? Pulling off a good movie musical is hard. Something about the medium of film makes it much more challenging to buy characters breaking into song. So, I’ve done the hard work for you. Whether you think you’ve seen them all or the new West Side Story has you itching for more song and dance, I’ve got a musical recommendation for you.
For the First-Timers
“Singin’ in the Rain”
If you’re new to the genre of movie musicals or if you’ve somehow made it this far without having seen it, stop what you’re doing and put on Singin’ in the Rain. Excellent pacing and storytelling separate Singin’ in the Rain from most of its contemporaries. While many golden age musicals have plots that feel like a thin excuse to watch Fred Astaire or Bing Crosby do their thing, Singin’ in the Rain is bursting with romance and comedy and is ultimately a love letter to film history. The movie follows a film star, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), who falls for chorus girl Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds) just as he’s trying to transition from silent films to talkies. We watch Don and his friends, including his delusional costar Lena Lemont (the inimitable Jean Hogan) and music director Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), work their butts off to make one of the first-ever movie musicals. The stakes are high, the romance is palpable, and there are filmmaking jokes for days. And the dancing. The dancing is unmissable. Do you like tap dancing? Do you like slapstick humor? Do you want to see Debbie Reynolds pop out of a cake? This is the movie for you. And by you, I mean literally anybody with a pulse.
Singin’ in the Rain is streaming for free on HBO Max and is available to rent on YouTube, Google Play, Apple, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.
But Have You Tried it in French?
“The Young Girls of Rochefort”
Part melodrama, part surreal fantasy, The Young Girls of Rochefort is an absolute treat. Jaques Demy’s love letter to golden age musicals, Young Girls is about two sisters, a dancer and a pianist, who live in the seaside town of Rochefort. Over the course of the movie, their paths cross with carnival performers, music shop owners, sailors, and artists, all looking for love and utterly unaware that the love of their life is just around the corner. While the plot is basically a comedy of errors, like many french films of its time, Young Girls is less about the story and more about vibes. The way Demy seamlessly integrates dancing, singing, and design into the film makes it feel more like a dream than a movie — the colors alone feel otherworldly. If you need more convincing, the film stars Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister Francoise Dorleac. It also features outstanding dance performances by George Chakiris (who you may recognize from his role as Bernardo in the original West Side Story) and an older, french-speaking Gene Kelly. If you’re in the mood to gaze off into the distance and think about true love and french fries, The Young Girls of Rochefort is your perfect choice.
The Young Girls of Rochefort is streaming for free on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max and is available to rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Vudu. You might also be interested in the making-of documentary, The Young Girls Turn 25, streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel.
For My Drama Queens
“Pennies from Heaven”
This is a challenging film, which I don’t think I’ve ever said or thought of any other movie musical. Pennies from Heaven, starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters, aims to contrast the sugar-sweet, optimistic songs of the 1930s with the relentless evils of life under capitalism, and specifically life during the depression. The combination of outstanding Busby Berkeley style dance numbers and a plot that, frankly, seems hellbent on making you suicidal is extremely jarring at first. And only made more so because the actors are lip-syncing to records from the 1930s. To be clear, watching Steve Martin dance and lip-sync to a crackly old recording of a woman’s voice is immediately wonderful, but I’ll admit I spent the first half of the movie wondering if I was in good hands or completely wasting my time. But, ultimately, Pennies from Heaven really won me over. The film has a lot to say about the way escapist fantasies affect our morale and morals, and our expectations for the way life should go. It is especially strong in its discussions of how pop culture affects men’s expectations of women and everyone’s expectations for romance. It also does a beautiful job of using the surreal visuals from 1930s musicals to say all of this. If you want to watch a musical that will make you think but also would enjoy Christopher Walken doing a tap-dancing striptease, this one is calling your name.
Pennies from Heaven is streaming on HBO Max and is available to rent on Google Play, Apple TV, Vudu, and Youtube.
Some Honorable Mentions
For tap-dancing fans: Born To Dance (1936), available to rent on Youtube, Google, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Vudu. Stormy Weather (1943), available to stream on Criterion Channel, available to rent on Youtube, Google Play, Apple TV, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.
Classic for a reason: Annie (1982), available to stream on Netflix, available to rent on Vudu, Amazon Prime, Youtube, Google Play, and Apple TV. My Fair Lady (1964), available to stream on Netflix and available to rent on Youtube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon, and Apple TV.
Silly but great: Reefer Madness the Musical (2005), available to stream free with commercials on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
Busby Berkley 101: 42 Street (1933), streaming for free with commercials on Tubi and available to rent on Youtube, Google Play, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Tubi.
Just show me the dances: That’s Dancing! (1985), available to rent on Amazon Prime, Vudu, Youtube, Google Play, and Apple TV.