Fred Astire is such a powerhouse not only of energy but in his comedy. He is bursting with life and it shows. Ginger Rogers also great here, this really is her best performance, at least from what I’ve seen of her work. She is so lovable in this. Just seeing them together on screen really help to keep you interested in the film. The moment where she goes into kiss him and he backs away then she goes in again and he does it again is pure magic. Otherwise, it seems like these two talents are just playing around one of the most bare minimum of plots. It’s a moment that doesn’t add anything to the picture and must be something steeped in the era it was made. A lot of the characters that aren’t Fred or Ginger act so big that it takes away from the film and makes it feel a bit silly. Both Pops and Mabel are stock characters of the era and its hard to see them as anything but cartoons. It feels like John Lovitz based his style of comedy on Ginger Roger’s boss at the dance academy. Every time he spoke I just heard his voice. If it is ever remade he has to play him. “The Way You Look Tonight” is so good that I teared up a bit during that scene. It’s such a beautiful song and you can just feel its presence on the film. My favorite song & dance number goes to “Never Gonna Dance." It is such a bittersweet song, even their dancing is bittersweet, but when you watch Fred Astaire sing the song you can’t help but feel lifted in the air. “Bojangles of Harlem” dance number has cool moments like the dancing shadows/silhouettes and the dancing with the girls in black and white outfits in an almost Busby Berkley like fashion, but then it becomes cringeworthy as it ends in blackface. He also stays in the blackface makeup for far too long.
