A late-night viewing of this period piece shows it to be a charming and amusing glimpse into an earlier time. Doris Day holds up well, brightly singing, dancing, and portraying the all-American girl with gumption. Bolger's dancing is phenomenal, but the chemistry between them is not really there; it's hard to believe they really like each other very much. The costumes are outrageous in a campy way - almost Busby Berkley level synchronized dance scenes. A fashion-show scene shows overdone eccentric outfits in various colors, with French poodles dyed to match. In the last musical scene, Doris starts out with a floor-length gold cape with mini-pleats radiating from her shoulders; and then takes it off to show a bare midriff any current teenager would be proud of. The movie opens with some vintage scenes (current to the time of the film) of Washington DC, complete with streetcars. But the most anachronistic element is the main theme of the plot, which revolves around Bolger and Day coming close to sleeping together, thinking they are legally married, when in fact (horrors!!) they're not. In summary, it's a great combination of lightweight plot, eye candy, good music and a few laugh-out-loud lines, wrapped in the relative innocence of the fifties.
Review of April in Paris
