Singin' in the Rain | Teen Ink

Singin' in the Rain

October 27, 2019
By MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
678 articles 0 photos 8 comments

 Singin' in the Rain is an absolute classic that is famous for changing the way the world viewed musicals and its mark on the cinematic industry. The movie revolves around Don Lockwood, a famous movie star that has just about it all. He's wealthy, crazy famous and his adoring fans are willing to do just about whatever it takes to please him. Don has been the star of a countless number of silent films, and it seems like he might be one of the most notable movie stars of all time. However, it seems like Don's life is about to come crashing down when he discovers that the film industry is beginning to move away from silent films and into "talkies", pictures with sound and real actors speaking. This could end up destroying Lockwood's career, simply because of a fellow actress in Lina Lamont. While Lina is almost as famous as Don, and has been conjured up by the media to be his future fiancé, her voice in a movie would certainly fail to persuade audiences. She lacks the ability to properly pronounce words, and Don knows that her strange accent wouldn't properly resonate with audiences. Unfortunately, Don and Lina have often been cast together as a famous romantic couple that the world adores, meaning that Don cannot just simply get rid of Lina. Even after practicing with a professional voice coach, Lina's voice still doesn't sound good enough to make it in Hollywood, leaving Don Lockwood to wonder if this is finally the end of his triumphant career. However, with the help of his close friend, Cosmo Brown, and Kathy Seldon, a rising actress that dreams of inspiring audiences, Don thinks he might be able to make a big break by starring in a musical picture, with Kathy's voice being used to replace Lina's voice. As Don Lockwood attempts to revive his career in Hollywood, he soon learns some of the hard truths about Hollywood and how everything isn't always as perfect as they seem. 
 Singin' in the Rain is considered by many to be the quintessential musical, made all the more notable by the fact that it came at a time when musicals were quickly losing popularity. The movie has plenty of singing and dancing, and even for those that typically don't think of themselves as fans of that type of entertainment, the cheery mood and happy attitude should at least warrant some smiles. The movie is genuinely high-spirited, reminiscent of how the movie came out at a time when people went to the movies for positivity.  

 Singin' in the Rain successfully manages to shed some truth on the realities of Hollywood, creating plenty of parallels that separate the Hollywood that people think they know versus what really goes on. The masks of plenty of actors and actresses are revealed, and the movie demonstrates how everything isn't as peachy as it initially comes across. 

 Singin' in the Rain is what most people think of when they think of classic musicals, and this is mostly because of the talented actors that shine in the movie. Gene Kelly stars as Don Lockwood, and Donald O'Connor also has a very meaningful role as Cosmo Brown. Because they were probably two of the greatest dancers in the world at the time, if not the best, they are able to bring all of their singing and dancing performances to life. Additionally, it's quite remarkable to see Debbie Reynolds dance alongside both of them as Kathy Seldon, seeing as she had to learn how to dance and perform at their level in roughly six months. 

 Singin' in the Rain may not be for everyone, but it is considered a hallmark of musical lore by many. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a perfect 100%, which is just as impressive as it sounds, and an outstanding 90% of Google users liked the movie, demonstrating that the movie is a fairly good fit with a wide variety of audiences. While the movie may now mostly be popular for its title, and the scene that involves Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood literally singing in the rain, it's still worth seeing. 


The author's comments:

"Dignity. Always dignity." - Don Lockwood


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