Funny Face
Dir: Stanley Donen
1957
*****
Funny Face is probably the ultimate modern musical. It's been a huge influence on the genre and has also influenced a couple of non-musicals. The bohemian Cinderella story maybe a bit shaky at times but the choreography, costumes, make-up, profs, locations and overall beautiful direction are second to none. That's before you get to the brilliant music numbers and the fantastic performances. Fred Astaire is on full charm offensive, at first the obvious age gap between he and Audrey Hepburn makes for uneasy viewing but this doesn't last thanks to her maturity and his childishness. Audrey Hepburn is drop dead beautiful, far from the 'Funny Face' she's supposed to be but when compared to the magazine model of the day, she did have something of a revolutionary style about her. Both are sublime and the dance numbers they have together are among the best committed to film. However, it is Kay Thompson as the pushy yet over the top Maggie Prescott who really steals the show and makes the film 'one of the best'. Her performance is hilarious and she keeps up effortlessly when it comes to the singing and dancing scenes too. Why she appeared in very few films after is a mystery and a tragedy. Funny Face was so cutting edge for its time, I'm not sure why it isn't mentioned more when people talk of shifts in style and analyse decades in film. Funny Face has everything a great film needs and is in my opinion one of the quintessential films of the 1950's.