Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

As a fan of musicals and who gets great enjoyment out of seeing Jane Powell and Carmen Miranda, 'Nancy Goes to Rio' didn't disappoint at all, actually getting more or less what was expected.Only the story in 'Nancy Goes to Rio' isn't so good. It does go overboard on the silliness and is both thin and too busy at times, with narrative surprises next to none. The ending is also rather abrupt and strange and the romance is bland somewhat and feels like an afterthought.However, as to be expected, 'Nancy Goes to Rio' is a glorious-looking film. The sets and costumes are suitably opulent and complemented beautifully by the radiant cinematography and the big, bold and rich colours.The music is always a pleasant listen and infectiously upbeat. "Magic is the Moonlight" and especially "Shine on Harvest Moon" stand out, as does Carmen Miranda's colourful and to-be-seen-to-be-believed second production number. Nice use of "Quando M'En Vo" too from Puccini's 'La Boheme'. The choreography is cleverly done, especially in Miranda's second production number.Furthermore the script is filled with snappy lines that crackle in energy and wit, the whole film is breezily directed and the whole film is just full of fun and charm, just perfect for 100 minutes escapist entertainment.Jane Powell is her usual pert and charming self and is in wonderful voice. Ann Southern more than matches her as her mother. Meanwhile Carmen Miranda is a riot in material that shows off her talent splendidly, Louis Culhern is sparkling comedic support and Barry Sullivan is effectively subdued without being bland.On the whole, a Technicolor and musical treat, as long as you don't demand too much. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This would have been a significantly better movie if MGM had built it around Carmen Miranda. The two numbers she does are the high points of the film - especially the second number set in a night club. I would rate the scenes with Miranda a nine. The rest of the movie has a rating of 4.Another bright spot in the movie is Ann Sothern - one of my all time favorite actresses. While Sothern is given top billing, the star of the movie is clearly Jane Powell who plays her 17 year old daughter. Powell made some wonderful movies - this is not one of them. She does have a lovely singing voice, but her acting style is very dated. In this movie, she come across as very mannered and artificial. The movie is top notch in terms of cast and production values. Any single clip from this movie is far more appealing than the entire movie. The problem is with the script, no amount of talent can overcome a muddled mess of a plot. Think of this as a G rated movie which tries, never successfully, to introduce "adult themes" into standard plot. Jane Powell, the beacon of American Virginity, is mistakenly thought to be pregnant. While this may have been shocking 1950, it makes for a very tired and stale plot point in 2016.The other problem with this film is that it does not fit into any one specific genre. It is not strictly speaking a musical. In the traditional musical the songs are related to the story line - they serve to advance plot points. In this film they take what appears to be an overly short "women's picture" and pad it out with songs. None of the songs are in any way related to the rest of the movie - they are just randomly spliced into the movie.I do recommend this movie- if only for the scenes with Carmen Miranda. You can fast forward through the tiresome bits where Jane Powell tries "acting".

Ann Sothern and Jane Powell play mother and daughter in Nancy Goes To Rio. Both are actresses, Sothern a star and Powell someone who would like to follow in the theater as her mother and grandfather Louis Calhern did. They both sing well, Jane in a much higher register.The plot here is rather silly as Brazilian playwright Fortunio Bonanova writes a work intended for Sothern, but Powell gets the idea the part is for her and she takes an ocean cruise and Sothern and Calhern take a plane to Rio De Janiero where all parts of the story both musical and romantic come together.We're asked here to believe that the worldly and sophisticated Barry Sullivan when he hears Jane rehearsing lines from the play will immediately think she's a girl in trouble. Not Jane Powell in 1950 by any stretch of the imagination.The silliness of the story which is a remake of the Deanna Durbin film It's A Date by the producer of both Joe Pasternak is made up for by the musical numbers. Powell and Sothern are in good voice and the best part of the film is the two songs done by Carmen Miranda. All of Miranda's films are made just a tad better by her being in them. Would MGM dare make a film set in Brazil without Carmen Miranda?For fans of Sothern and Powell and Carmen Miranda makes it good for everyone else.

Pleasant is a good word for this film. While not one of the top-five musicals, it is well made and enjoyable. Ann Sothern and Jane Powell play mother and daughter who fall for the same man while in South America (No location shoots here. The furthest south anybody working on this movie traveled was probably Long Beach). There are some interesting numbers here, in great part because some of the songs and styles included were rare by the time this movie was made. "Shine On Harvest Moon," an old song, is sung and danced by Sothern, Powell, and amazingly enough, Louis Calhern. "Time and Time Again" is a Nelson Eddy-Jeanette McDonald type number which features Sothern and is probably one of the last of that style to be filmed. The bulk of the musical numbers feature Jane Powell who sings well, as always. Yet, for me, the high point of the film is the number featuring Carmen Miranda. I think it's one of her best. This was Carmen Miranda's next-to-last film and also the last musical for Ann Sothern.