Wonderful World of TCM: Easter Parade

TCM is, of course, Turner Classic Movies, the Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind. My wife and I caught Easter Parade on there recently. It was the first time for each of us to see this 1948 Fred Astaire-Judy Garland musical. I must say, while the tunes were OK and the time passed quickly enough, I was disappointed.

Let's start with the leads. I just never got into the idea of a romance between Fred and Judy, and not just because he was nearly twice her age during filming. Uh, mostly because, but not just because. The two just never clicked for me. Since the whole story, sparse as it is, centers on the two of them falling love while building a spectacular dance act, well, that's an issue.

To be fair, I'm not a big Judy Garland fan unless she's paired with mythical creatures--you know, like The Scarecrow, The Tin Man, Mickey Rooney...All Growed Up Romantic Judy doesn't cut it for me, so Fred had his work cut out trying to sell this one.

I'll tell you who I do like: Ann Miller, someone with reference to whom I can say "gorgeous gams" without feeling like a total moron. She's attractive, charismatic, and dances up a storm. In fact, TCM was screening "Easter Parade" as part of a daylong salute to her. Unfortunately, from the get-go in this film, she is a clear heel, blindsiding poor ol' Fred by suddenly leaving their act for lucrative solo pastures--this after the poor schnook thought they were a couple.

So Fred plucks greenhorn Judy from obscurity and makes a new act, and, allegedly, romance ensues between them while Ann gets to act bitchy. I felt a little better post-screening when Bobby Osborne told us this movie catapulted Miller into A pictures, but still, she deserved better.

All the while, you have Peter Lawford's character hanging around and hanging on. MILD SPOILERS: He indulges Ann's overtures, falls in love with Judy in about 2 minutes, is decisively rejected by Judy for Fred, but then creepily lingers around like a third wheel, rarely missing a chance to remind Garland he still loves her. And oh, yeah, he still "goes out with" Ann. In real life, of course, some of that makes sense--did I mention I like Ann Miller?--but in this story it makes him look deranged. Weeks after watching "Easter Parade," the wife and I are still scratching our heads trying to figure out his deal.

Having said all that, the technicolor is pleasant, the Irving Berlin tunes are fun, and there are some interesting dance numbers. But this is a second-tier musical to my eyes, though it's a nice one to have on standby for Easter if you're tired of Biblical epics and "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown."