Love. One of the most powerful forces on the earth is love, and to the Parisians everything revolves around love. Well, at least that is what Gigi thinks. The French teenager is not a big fan of Love. She is not against it but she thinks there is so much more to the world than just falling in love and having a family. She goes as far as singing as song saying "I don't understand the Parisians" because all they want to do is focus on love. Not everyone in Paris is focused on love. Gaston, Gigi's rich friend the provide to families needs on occasion, knows that he should marry to he can have an heir but love, and all of the doing that goes with him, he thinks is a bore. When he tells Gigi he is going to his beach house for a few weeks to escape the every impending drama that comes with love, Gigi convinces him to take her and her family with him. The question then becomes will Gigi and Gaston realize that love can be as fun as everyone says it is as long as it's with the right person?
This film has one of the best casts, and film sets, ever to be put in the movies. However, it was not easy to set up the film to become what we see today. Author Freed jumped through a lot of hoops in order to get the film into production to begin with. The Hays Codes where still in effect as of this time and the story of Gigi was not "Code Friendly". The codes were starting to relax a bit in the 60s but were not totally gone yet either. So, telling a story of a young teenager and a 30 year old man falling in love was not something the code was going to ease up on. While he was fighting them Freed also had to fight to get the rights of the book so MGM could make the movie. The widow of the Author of Gigi sold the rights to a rival company. In order for Freed to get the rights to MGM he had to pay a whopping $87,000 to them. Then when it came who would play the title character there where two names flying about: Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron. Freed really wanted Caron to play the role because he loved her work in An American in Paris. However, others thought Hepburn was a better choice. When Hepburn declined the role they were sent to go and talk with Caron in London about the role. Caron was playing Gigi in an unsuccessful play and when she learned that the movie was going to be vastly different from the play she took the role. They started shoot with an unfinished script and musical score, which make making a musical extra hard. The score was almost complete but the musical team could not figure out a title number. Alan Lerner, the screenplay writer, was with Frederick Loewe, the composer, in mid-July working on the score. When Learner was in the bathroom Loewe starting playing a random melody. Learner jumped up, with his pants still around his ankles, and came as fast as he could to the living room telling Loewe to play that tune again. That tune ended up being the title song for Gigi. For all what the film went through it ended up being worth it. The success of the film took home a record breaking 9 Oscars home from the 31st Annual Academy Awards. One of those 9 awards was the Best Picture Award beating out: MGM's own Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Warner Brothers' Auntie Mame; Kramer's The Defiant Ones; and United Artists Separate Tables. Gigi was also selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1991.
I fist saw this movie years ago and I have to tell you it gets better as you watch it. I didn't really understand what was going on the first time I watched it. I was really young too so the had a large part for that reason I am sure. I think this movie is very witty and cleaver. The jokes get funnier every time you experience it because you catch more of what is going on. This has to be one of the most beautiful movies to ever be put on the screen. The costumes and the set are glorious, and all fo the acting is divine! There is not doubt to me that when you are watching this film you are truly watching something very special.
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