Nothing against Debbie Reynolds...I found her charming in films like "Singin' In The Rain" and "Two Weeks With Love", but I've gotta say I thought she was just awful in this film. Her acting is too broad, loud and abrasive. It boggles the mind that she was nominated for an Oscar here. I understand that Debbie's a very energetic performer, but unfortunately she went waaaay over-the-top in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", playing a screeching hillbilly whose vocal and physical contortions had me cringing in disbelief. Maybe her acting is extreme so that we'll be more impressed by Debbie's transformation into a refined lady later - but I found the characterization cartoonish.
Apart from that...I have a problem with pretty much everything else about the movie! Debbie's leading man is unappealing, the songs are unmemorable, the humour is unsubtle (and unfunny), the plot is unfaithful to the true story of the *real* Molly Brown, and the apparent moral is hard to swallow. I'm supposed to root for Molly and her ambitions for wealth and social status? I'm supposed to be angry at her husband for not supporting her shallow aim in life? For loving her the way she was when they met (miraculously!) and not wanting her, or their life, to change?
I guess a lot of people wouldn't have a problem with this film's message, because they too are pursuing the "American Dream" and envying the idle rich. But I don't care to watch folks with superficial values and greedy goals in life, desperately try to climb social ladders. Those who see movies such as "My Fair Lady" primarily as Cinderella stories, where the main objective is to ooh and aah over rags-to-riches transformations and gaze at the heroine's fancy clothes/rich lifestyle... might enjoy "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". But I'd kinda like to see her sink like a stone.
Apart from that...I have a problem with pretty much everything else about the movie! Debbie's leading man is unappealing, the songs are unmemorable, the humour is unsubtle (and unfunny), the plot is unfaithful to the true story of the *real* Molly Brown, and the apparent moral is hard to swallow. I'm supposed to root for Molly and her ambitions for wealth and social status? I'm supposed to be angry at her husband for not supporting her shallow aim in life? For loving her the way she was when they met (miraculously!) and not wanting her, or their life, to change?
I guess a lot of people wouldn't have a problem with this film's message, because they too are pursuing the "American Dream" and envying the idle rich. But I don't care to watch folks with superficial values and greedy goals in life, desperately try to climb social ladders. Those who see movies such as "My Fair Lady" primarily as Cinderella stories, where the main objective is to ooh and aah over rags-to-riches transformations and gaze at the heroine's fancy clothes/rich lifestyle... might enjoy "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". But I'd kinda like to see her sink like a stone.