Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor, Singing in the Rain is a classic musical set in the late 1920s in Hollywood during a momentous change in the film industry – the transition of silent pictures to ‘talkies’/movies with sound. However, with these changes came the need for a wider variety of skills, including better dialogue and pleasant-sounding voices. Behind the scenes for the actors and directors, changes must be made to keep up with the technological advancements.  

Stuck in a fake relationship with his co-star solely for publicity, Don Lockwood, a famous actor and absolutely adored by women for his charm, skills, and attractive appearance, is stunned when a woman, whose car he managed to jump into when escaping from a crowd of female admirers, was not impressed by his charismatic flirting and fame. How she is able to do that is personally beyond me; I would have folded like a towel if he flashed that smile at me, but that is besides the point. At that moment, she portrayed herself as having a negative attitude towards movies, such as saying “I don’t go to the movies much; if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”. She further undermined his career as an actor, which was greatly unappealing to him, and his initial interest in her was seemingly broken. Until, of course, he sees her jump out of a cake. After having his career and devotion degraded by Kathy earlier, to see the woman who portrayed herself as above his station of acting dancing for a party was deeply amusing, and he couldn’t help but tease her in response to her earlier comments. Fed up, she tries to toss a piece of cake on his face, but accidentally hits Don’s co-star (the woman he is in a fake relationship with), Lina Lamont, instead, who gets Kathy fired, primarily out of jealousy of Don’s attraction and interest in Kathy. But that can’t get in the way of true love. Especially since Lina is beautiful but has an unfortunately squeaky and unpleasant voice. Thus, with the changes to the film industry where being attractive and a decent actress in terms of physical performance is not enough, therein lies a problem and an opportunity for Kathy to voice Lina’s character. 

This film goes through a major transitional period in the world of movie productions with the introduction of ‘talkies’, and like with many other new technological or innovative advancements or changes, there is initial distrust or hesitation. From a perspective in the 21st century, it is fascinating to see how many reacted to something so common to us now, like calling talking films ‘vulgar’ or reducing it to ‘just a toy’ and claiming ‘it will never amount to a thing’.     

This is undoubtedly one of the best musical classic films I’ve ever seen. Each scene is iconic, the characters are vivid and engaging, the interpersonal relationships (i.e.lifelong friendship and loyalty between Don Lockwood and Cosmo Brown and a beautiful romance between Don and Kathy), a phenomenal soundtrack, memorable and iconic songs, and skilled and humorous dance routines that capture a permanent place in the audience’s hearts and minds. The dialogue in the movie, including the witty banter between Don and Kathy, is truly fantastic and can bring a smile to anyone’s face. And any scene that involves Cosmo Brown, Don’s lifelong friend, is hilarious and perfect. Casting Donald O’Connor as Cosmo Brown was a phenomenal decision and makes Cosmo one of the best side-characters in movie history. This is a remarkably entertaining film, and I highly recommend Singing in the Rain.