My one year of dance, where I absolutely sucked at tap, let me know that it was no easy task, so I was compelled to watch what was going on in the movie  Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Gene Kelly, one of the most famous people of the time period, was killing it with those moves, and Donald O’Connor was keeping up right along with him.

The main conflict in the story is the transition of silent films to “talkies,” movies that we in 2018 are used to. Lena (Jean Hagen) the leading lady in all the movies, has a horrible voice. You ever heard a cat struggling to breathe mixed in with the sound of nails on a chalkboard? Welcome to the cacophony that is Lena’s voice. I was physically revolted by the sound of the noise reaching my ears.

The Dueling Cavalier, the movie they make inside the film, was still in production because the studio thought that Lena and Don’s (Kelly) fame would make it work. It didn’t. They put the movie in theatres and it flops..

I don’t know why the directors thought that clout alone could make a horrible movie succeed. After the fact, Don, the slick player that he is, decided to ask Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) to make it into a musical. This introduces the greatest song in musical history: Good Morning, where Kathy tap dances with heels on. I stan a queen that can sing and tap dance at the same time! This is where they also decide to redo The Dueling Cavalier but as a musical. The same people are cast, and Kathy is singing for Lena.

Don kisses Kathy goodnight, then he dances his way home in Singin’ in the Rain where he dances and belts out velvet goodness as the heavens cry in awe. He’s having the time of his life and doesn’t even care about the police officers watching. He’s utterly smitten in that moment and his love for Kathy is all that matters. That’s something that new movies lack: the sense of total love.

Fast forward to the conclusion where Lena and Don are accepting the award for best picture — Kathy is behind the stage singing for Lena and crying because she is not getting the fame she deserves. I feel so much sympathy for Kathy because she was a strong, independent woman before she met Don. She was honestly just fighting to survive.

Don doesn’t let his woman go without fame for long. He pulls back the curtain and it’s revealed to the audiences that it was Kathy singing all along. Lena is very upset that she doesn’t get the man, but she’s the antagonist in the story so she got what she deserved.

For it to be an old movie, Singin’ in the Rain  was entertaining and had lovable songs. It’s a story that will stick to me for a long time and makes me enjoy musical theatre that much more. All in all, I give the movie four stars.