“For Me and My Gal” is a musical
that tells the love story of a Vaudeville star, Harry Palmer, and a
struggling young girl, Jo Hayden, who wants to be a star. The meet,
their romantic and performance chemistry grows, and just as they are
about to become the biggest stars in the world, he gets drafted. But
Harry pulls a pretty bullshit move, and in trying to delay his
deployment he accidentally cripples his hand for life. Jo calls him
on the cowardly move, leaves him, and they forfeit their exploding
stardom. As so often happens with star crossed lovers, they meet by
chance after the war and reunite on the stage they longed to play for
an encore performance of the very first song they ever sang together.
It's hard to be impartial in films like
this, as the plots often seem trite and predictable. But is that a
fair assertion, when this film came so early? It's a problem often
faced by movie lovers of my generation who saw the imitation rather
than the inspiration first. But even a tired love story can be saved
by chemistry, performances, or great writing. This, unfortunately,
had none. But it did have Gene Kelly in his very first cinematic
role, and was saved by the always mesmerizing Judy Garland. None of
the musical numbers featured traditional Busby Berkely choreography
or choruses, but the songs were joyous and fun to watch. I don't
think this one will warrant a rewatch at any time, but I am glad I
watched it.
“For Me and My Gal” did not win in
its nominated category.
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