Sorry, this movie sucks

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is one of the most awful movies I've ever seen. Doris Day is wonderful - obviously it must have been hard for her to not be charming and sing delightfully. Truthfully, I had to skip ahead constantly to the scenes where I could just see Doris Day, but she keeps being crowded by a complete cast of creeps, not least the two main male characters. It's one painful French cliché after the other. But nothing is more painful that the "love interest" between Doris Day and Ray Bolger. Brrrrr.Doris Day must be one of the most badly treated actors in Hollywood, castingwise. It's amazing that she is able to deliver a fresh and spontaneous performance in the midst of that plot, those characters and those costumes. Skip.

Ethel Jackson (Day) a chorus girl who is accidentally appointed as a cultural representative by State DeptEthel Jackson (Doris Day) is a common chorus girl. Accidentally, she's appointed a cultural ambassador by an idiotic representative of the State Department (Ray Bolger). I say idiotic because he's supposed to offer this to Ethel Barrymore...and mixed the letter up with another-- and thus Ms. Jackson is going to Europe to represent the United States.The film's idea isn't bad and Miss Day is pretty good. So why the low score? Two problems: Ray Bolger is rather obnoxious in the lead and wanted him to just go away and the other is that the film simply wasn't very entertaining. This film clearly is a very minor effort by Warner Brothers. Had it been written better, had less dance numbers and Bolger's character been less abrasive and annoying, I could have recommended it.

Doris Day as Ethel 'Dynamite' Jackson gets a letter from the State Department saying that she's been chosen to be an American representative at an Arts Festival in Paris. The letter was supposed to go to Ethel Barrymore instead. Doris had written the State Department about a work permit visa to work at a nightclub in Montreal. It's a faux pas of the highest order that State Department bureaucrat Ray Bolger has committed and he tries to rectify the situation. But when the press gets a hold of it, the thing becomes a popular move. So Bolger's boss Paul Harvey puts him in charge of getting Doris's diplomatic etiquette up to speed. For better or worse Bolger and Day are going to spend April In Paris together. The popular Vernon Duke-E.Y. Harburg standard serves as the title for this film and Warner Brothers got Vernon Duke to write the balance of the score with Sammy Cahn's lyrics. Nothing really outstanding here, but the score fits well with styles of the two leads.Doris is great as always, the problem here is Bolger and the part he plays. Ray Bolger was a great personality on stage who but for two roles never quite was able to translate the same popularity to the big screen. One role was of course the Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz and the other was the lead in Charley's Aunt. And both of those were comic parts.As a traditional screen lead Ray never quite made it. In fact in watching April In Paris I couldn't quite see what Doris saw in him. Of course with her attraction it was obvious as Bolger so succinctly put it, 'What a Built'. Ray plays a traditional WASP stuffed shirt diplomat who is engaged to the demanding daughter of Harvey, Eve Miller. Getting involved with Day was not an upward career move.Of course Doris sparks the attention of Claude Dauphin who's working his way back to France on the same ship that Bolger and Day and company are traveling. She has a nice number with Dauphin in a Parisian nightclub.Bolger's big moment on the screen is a very nicely staged fantasy number where portraits of Lincoln and Washington come alive and dance with him as Bolger dreams about his future. It was as creative as something Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire might have done.Still Ray is not quite leading man material and the film can't overcome that. Fans of Doris and Ray will like it though, but I fear it's not one of Doris Day's best films.

April in paris is a great movie to watch on a rainy day. Doris day does a splendid job here, but the true star is Ray Bolger, who makes a fantastic co-star, and is really quite a handsome fellow...definitely my favorite in this film!