I suddenly decided to work this epic Christmas classic into my routine this year because I had never seen it. I HATE reviewing classics because who am I to say whether it is good or not because just out of sheer respect and longevity, obviously timeless classics are so for a reason. So I am strictly going by how it made me feel. White Christmas was cute, and it was fun and it certainly has plenty of song and dance routines for those 50's and 60's dance movie fans. The problem is that I just found it sort of ho hum. It never really takes off, I found some of the performances rather sluggish and certainly the pacing for the movie was sluggish. It did not need to be two hours long by any stretch and it just felt like it went on and on with the same concept. Secondly I don't think this really had to be a Christmas movie. Obviously it was built off the insane success of the Christmas song classic "White Christmas" but the entire film feels like Christmas is an afterthought and almost forced into the story. It would have made a much better comedy-romance without the Christmas theme.
Bing Crosby is a brilliant singer and this is the first time I've seen him acting and honestly I didn't think much. I thought his performance was wooden and monotone a lot of the time until he sang which of course is amazing. The romance focusing on his character felt lost because he just looked so unimpressed most of the time and just really not the acting type I think. He looked even worse next to Danny Kaye who is nothing short of brilliant as the boisterous and loud Phil Davis. Kaye steals every scene between them and is just more comfortable and so much more charismatic on screen. He had some edge about him and some machismo but delivered his lines perfectly. Legendary singer Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are the sisters that capture the two guys' hearts. They are good, but I just didn't feel like they were great. The chemistry between the four of them was just okay although I thought Kaye and Ellen had better chemistry than the other two. Dean Jagger and Mary Wickes play decent roles but quite small, definitely supporting characters.
The dance numbers are splashy and elaborate and fun to watch. However, after the first two you'll feel like you've seen it all before. Even some of the songs just feel like the same thing over and over again. The ending of the film was actually what really got me. It was a great ending and almost brought me to tears which is pretty good considering I thought the rest of the film was just all around average. I love musicals and this one just felt like it didn't try hard enough. But then I have to repeat what do I know because this is a timeless classic that has stood the test of time. I know that this won't make a permanent spot in my Holiday rotation, it just didn't impress me but I would never presume to tell anyone not to watch a classic, it simply didn't impress me at all. 6/10
Bing Crosby is a brilliant singer and this is the first time I've seen him acting and honestly I didn't think much. I thought his performance was wooden and monotone a lot of the time until he sang which of course is amazing. The romance focusing on his character felt lost because he just looked so unimpressed most of the time and just really not the acting type I think. He looked even worse next to Danny Kaye who is nothing short of brilliant as the boisterous and loud Phil Davis. Kaye steals every scene between them and is just more comfortable and so much more charismatic on screen. He had some edge about him and some machismo but delivered his lines perfectly. Legendary singer Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are the sisters that capture the two guys' hearts. They are good, but I just didn't feel like they were great. The chemistry between the four of them was just okay although I thought Kaye and Ellen had better chemistry than the other two. Dean Jagger and Mary Wickes play decent roles but quite small, definitely supporting characters.
The dance numbers are splashy and elaborate and fun to watch. However, after the first two you'll feel like you've seen it all before. Even some of the songs just feel like the same thing over and over again. The ending of the film was actually what really got me. It was a great ending and almost brought me to tears which is pretty good considering I thought the rest of the film was just all around average. I love musicals and this one just felt like it didn't try hard enough. But then I have to repeat what do I know because this is a timeless classic that has stood the test of time. I know that this won't make a permanent spot in my Holiday rotation, it just didn't impress me but I would never presume to tell anyone not to watch a classic, it simply didn't impress me at all. 6/10