Director: Vincente Minnelli
Year Released: 1944
Rating: 2.0
Nothing is particularly wrong with this Minnelli musical, and yet that's sort-of the problem: it's fatally ordinary and lifeless, not coming anywhere near the best musicals, the ones that are either out of control, or funny, or deeply depressing, or just plain enjoyable - some of them flawed, maybe, but never dull. I blame the detached nature on all the sugary-sweetness - if I was a diabetic I'd have gone into shock. There's a bizarre middle act that doesn't really belong or make sense (it involves the little girl throwing flour at some man no one likes, and soon the scene morphs into Lord of the Flies, complete with chanting and bonfire), and it's so obvious that the interpersonal relationships - and simple problems - will work out perfectly (oh, right, they're almost going to move to New York). The "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" scene would have been truly magical had the little girl not snapped at the end and taken to mauling the papier-mâché snowmen, ruining the moment.
