Singin' in the Rain (AFI Top 100)

Singin' in the Rain

Much to my dismay I thought I had already watched all of the musicals that made the AFI top 100 list; until I realized I had only seen the actual "Singin' in the Rain" scene of the 1952 classic Singin' in the Rain.  Singin' in the Rain tells the story of a popular silent film star's career as he, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), transforms Hollywood from silent to musical along with the help of the under appreciated talent of chorus girl Kathy Seldes (Debbie Reynolds), and his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor).  This musical film is one of Gene Kelly's finest, and is well deserving of its rank as #5 on the AFI top 100 list.  His timeless talent as a dancer, actor, singer, and director is incomparable to that of anyone else, especially in this film.  My favorite scene is no other than Singin' in the Rain itself in which Kelly effortlessly dances through the streets in the pouring rain.  The work of O'Connor and Reynolds are also excellently carried out in this film as well.  Donald O'Connor's comedic contributions to this film only heighten the mood when he is on camera.  His song "Make 'Em Laugh" is one of my favorites because it is high energy and hilarious throughout.  Lastly, Debbie Reynolds sweet movie star charm parallels perfectly with her singing voice.  Her innocence throughout the plot was highly relatable as well.  Despite the fact that my whole family tried to fight me out of watching this because "it is so long (only 1.7 hours), boring, and has no valuable meaning," it is absolutely worth every minute.  I recommend this film to everyone who at least has a little love for musicals, and give it a rating of 10/10.