Living in a Big Way

I thought this movie was fun. I have never really watched old movies before and this one was a really great first date film. It had warmth and heart and spirit. Was kind of cheesy but in today's film industry, cheesy is cute. I gave it a ten and I highly suggest renting, buying or seeing the movie anyway you can. Gene Kelly was very dreamy and a little bit sarcastic and you knew the character thought that he was gonna have it all. The female lead was cast perfect because their two personalities had spark and you wanted to hold on and see what would happen. The grandma in the movie was priceless. The perfect addition to a great old movie. I love the fact it was black and white and Gene Kelly is so sweet with all the kids in the movie that you can't help liking him. See It.

"Living in a Big Way" is a film with portions I liked but overall I don't recommend it because there is a fatal flaw in the writing....you don't like one of the main characters and it's supposed to be a romance!

The story begins during WWII. Leo (Gene Kelly) and Margo (Marie McDonald) falling in love. But since it is the war and Leo is soon shipping out, they impulsively get married despite barely knowing each other....and he's sent overseas before they can even consummate the marriage.

The story now skips to just after the war has ended. Leo is looking forward to a life of wedded bliss with Margo. But when he seeks her out, he finds she's NOT the poor girl he thought she was...she's a rich model used to a life of ease.

Now at this point, the story was quite good. But Margo's reaction to her husband's return is bizarre and shows her to be an awful person. She apparently already has a NEW fiance picked out and informs Leo he's unwanted and he should get a divorce. Now, I CAN understand a woman thinking they made a bad and impulsive choice...that's understandable. But not even wanting to talk with him makes her seem like a real jerk. Soon, you learn she ALSO had a very cute mutt...and got bored with it and gave it away. So, you've got a leading character who is selfish and self-absorbed.... NOT what you'd want in a leading lady in a romance. Can the film be saved?

The story gets better later....so I still gave it a 5. But Margo was just unlikable....very unlikable. Also, while there were some dance numbers here and there, they weren't integrated into the story well at all and just seemed slapped there in order to give Kelly a chance to show off his talents. Overall, not the worst sort of romance but not a very good one either.

Cute film. Lots of plusses, a comfortable way to fill 100 minutes.

Some of the directorial touches could have been stronger. The biggest issue with box office failure 75 years ago, I suspect, is that viewers probably expected Anchors Aweigh or The Pirate.

Living in a Big Way is not that. It offers a ,mix of post-WW II reality, romance (not especially well handled), humor, dance numbers, and family fare.

Gene Kelly's dancing and choreography (done by the star and Stanley Donnen) are first-class. The children are excellent. I'd never seen Jean Adair before: Her turn as the female star's grandmother is first-rate. An early-30s Barbara Billingsley (Leave It To Beaver) looks like Lucille Ball's separated-at-birth twin.

I don't often, after 10,000 movies, find a new, fresh offering. This one qualifies. High quality? No . . . Sometimes, escapist fun is plenty.

I thought this movie was quite good. It was on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) at three am one night, and its offbeat humor kept me up til five. Kelly performs beautifully in this role, especially with the Grandma (whose quip almost caused me to laugh out of my seat). The main actress was alright, but the father was able to keep his character isolated from the marriage conflict and kept the humor coming. If you like a good offbeat, older movie, I would recommend it. Unlike the other comment, I do like Gene Kelly. He was the perfect leading actor for many of the early musicals and I think in this role, he oozes his charisma. One drawback is the dance scenes get a little long-winded, but if you can get through those, you're in the clear.

The dog, the kids and the dancing were really good. Someone should take the dancing sequences out and put them into a Kelly documentary. The kids were cute especially dancing and in the bathtub. Chris, the dog, was fantastic.

It is really hard not to like Gene Kelly. There was a real fault in the screen play in the lack of character development. Phyllis Thaxter's role was underdeveloped as was Marie MacDonald's. Thaxter was as perfect as she could be granted her limited screen time; I would have thought that a lot of her material was left on the cutting room floor. MacDonald had beautiful hair and figure, but the script gave her no consistent motivation.

Ideas of divorce and marriage in this film were problematic (or fortyish) but they did not interfere with the dog, the kids, or the dancing.

There was a lot of room for further development of the with Morgan family. There seemed to be gaps, which led me to wonder what the exact nature of family tension was.

All in all, there were a lot of missed opportunities.