Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

HotToastyRag While there are some famous songs in The Band Wagon, namely "That's Entertainment", it's not the best Fred Astaire movie in the world. This is one of those "let's make a movie about show business" movies, and those movies aren't usually very good.At the start of the movie, Fred Astaire is playing a characterture of himself: he's a stage and screen musical star who's got a few miles on him and is thinking of retiring. The fans who once wanted his autograph now seek out Ava Gardner—I don't know why she was featured as a plot point and cameo in this movie, since she was never famous for her song and dance talents. In any case, Fred, Oscar Levante, Nanette Fabray, and Jack Buchanan create a musical version of Faust and want to put it on Broadway to revive Fred's career. When Cyd Charisse is brought in as his costar, arguments ensue.If you're a Fred Astaire fan, like I am, you'll probably want to watch every movie he's ever made. By all means, rent The Band Wagon. "That's Entertainment" is a very famous song, and it's the title of the very famous documentary about film musicals that Fred co-hosted in 1974. If you're never seen a Fred Astaire movie before, or you're not too wild about movie musicals, this isn't the best one for you to start out with. There are some memorable songs, like "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," "Triplets," and the "Dancing in the Dark" dance with Fred and Cyd, but there are also some very silly songs, as well as songs that will make you want to walk out of the room for more popcorn without pressing pause.There you have it; you've been warned. I absolutely love Fred, so even when a movie of his is a little bad, I forgive him. If you love him too, then hop on The Band Wagon!

calvinnme The Band Wagon is one of those films such as "The Maltese Falcon" and "Some Like It Hot", where just about everybody involved does the finest work of their career, both in front of and behind the camera. It is certainly the best collaboration between two legends of the musical genre, hoofer Fred Astaire and director Vincente Minnelli.Astaire plays has-been Hollywood star Tony Hunter who hopes to revive his popularity by returning to Broadway in a new musical written by his friends Lester and Lily Marton (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray in essence portraying the screenplay's authors, Adolph Green and Betty Comden).The Martons have entrusted the staging of their show to wunderkind actor/director/producer Jeffrey Cordova (a combination caricature of Orson Welles and Jose Ferrer played by British song-and-dance man Jack Buchanan). Two of Cordova's inspirations include casting ballerina Gabrielle Gerard (Charisse) as the female lead (good idea) and turning the show into a pretentious Faust allegory (really bad idea).Tony and Gabrielle rub each other the wrong way - at first, and Cordova's joyless concoction lays an egg. But the cast vows to forge ahead and try again with another musical, this time with no mention of hell or the devil.As clever as the script is, the main attractions are the exquisitely performed musical numbers (written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz) including "That's Entertainment", "A Shine on Your Shoes","Dancing in the Dark" and the greatest grand finale in the history of movie musicals "The Girl Hunt Ballet", a parody of film noir with Astaire as private eye Rod Riley and Charisse in a dual role as good girl and femme fatale.

Antonius Block Fred Astaire was 54 when he made 'The Band Wagon' with Cyd Charisse (who was 31), and he supposedly loved the role in 'The Band Wagon' because it allowed him to show what it was like to be in productions as an older dancer. The first half of the movie is engaging, as a musical is put together starting with a script from writers played by Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray pitched to a bombastic producer played by Jack Buchanan. Astaire and Charisse's characters initially don't like one another, and the scene where they're all assembled at a gathering of Buchanan's to raise funds as he pitches his vision of the musical to the horror of the writers as well as touting stars who already 'want out' is fantastic. I loved the performance of 'That's Entertainment', which has since become a musical standard. Charisse and Astaire do have some great dance moments with one another, but performances overall are a little uneven. And, as the musical within the movie is reworked in the second half, it becomes a little hodgepodge, and it's hard to fathom how a hayride, a performance on triplets, and a film noir like number fit together (hint: they don't). There are some bright spots and the film is reasonably entertaining, but there is a lack of cohesion that separates it from the truly great musicals of the era.

hall895 It is a brave film which has a song called That's Entertainment! as its signature number. Because if, as is unfortunately the case with The Band Wagon, the film is not great entertainment...well, the negative review practically writes itself. This is a film which has the good fortune to have two great talents, Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, and the misfortune of completely wasting them. It's a film full of largely forgettable musical numbers and it has a story which never really engages and which in the end goes off the rails completely. To call the film tedious would be harsh but not entirely untrue. The film goes for laughs but fails rather miserably in that regard. It tries to give you a little romance but that angle never heats up. The film has no flow to it, there is a real disjointed feel throughout. No, this is not entertainment.Astaire plays declining movie star Tony Hunter. His friends Lester and Lily Marton have written a stage show which they think can revive his career. They bring it to noted Broadway director/producer/star Jeffrey Cordova who decides to turn what was written as a light comedy into a serious, and seriously bizarre, retelling of Faust. Not surprisingly this proves disastrous. Lester and Lily start bickering. The play, which no longer makes any sense whatsoever, spirals out of control. And all the while tension rises between Tony and his costar, ballerina Gabrielle Gerard. Tony is intimidated by Gabrielle's youth and beauty, not for no reason with Charisse playing the part. And he thinks this classically trained ballerina has no respect for his style of hoofing. Tony and Gabrielle have no chemistry, can't stand one another, can't work together. Eventually they do come together somewhat which provides the film with perhaps its one true highlight, Astaire and Charisse with a wonderful, beautiful dance in a park. Unfortunately after that Tony and Gabrielle's play continues to crumble and so does the film. By the time Astaire and Charisse dance together again much later on the film is past the point of being salvageable.Astaire and Charisse really were hung out to dry here. The supporting cast adds nothing. The loony Cordova character is meant to be over-the-top but Jack Buchanan goes way too far with it. This character is too nuts for the film's good. At least he has some spark to him which is more than can be said for the writing couple, Lester and Lily. Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray play those parts quite lifelessly. And James Mitchell, playing a romantic interest for Gabrielle, is a total wet blanket with all the personality of a doorknob. The musical numbers all fall flat and many make no sense whatsoever. By the end the film is just throwing random songs up on the screen to see what sticks. None of it does. Some of the numbers in the film's homestretch are obviously meant to be funny but they are just terrible, producing groans not laughs. The big final number is a little better even if, as with so much of what preceded it, it makes very little sense. The best musicals have a lot of life in them. The Band Wagon does not. The energy just is not there. The story doesn't work, the songs are forgettable, the performances of the supporting cast leave much to be desired. Astaire and Charisse have a couple of moments. A couple of moments is not enough to make a good film.