Charming and brutal

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Diverting bit of fluff from MGM about three women who join the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) to get away from their respective man troubles. One (Joan Evans) was left standing at the altar, one (Esther Williams) left someone standing at the altar, and another (Vivian Blaine) never got to the altar. The women go through training, singing and having fun along the way, until they get down to the important business at hand: landing a man.Vivian Blaine keeps things moving with her energetic performance. Joan Evans starts out being a terribly depressing character but she has a good turnaround about a half-hour in. Esther Williams seems to be going through the motions; not bad but not remarkable in any way. Barry Sullivan plays her love interest. The two have no chemistry at all. The DeMarco sisters are fun to watch. Debbie Reynolds has a cameo in a dance routine. Emmett Lynn is a scene stealer as Pop the plumber. The song and dance numbers are nothing to write home about. At least one of them ("What Good is a Gal without a Guy?") is downright embarrassing. Still, it's a hard movie to dislike. Everything is light and frothy with an enjoyable trio of stars. The highlight of the whole thing is (not surprisingly) Esther's big swimming scene, this time with a couple of cute kids.

Even though I am a fan of Esther Williams, I found this film very uneven.Skirts Ahoy! was released in 1952 when the U.S. was involved in the Korean conflict. The roles of women in society were changed significantly during WWII, which ended only about five years before. The country was adjusting quickly and creating social phenomena (the baby boom, the suburban real estate boom, and a search for equilibrium in the roles of the sexes) that would be studied for decades. Esther Williams, Vivian Blaine and Joan Evans play three Waves in training at the Great Lakes U.S. Naval Training Center. They are rather aggressive in pursuit of men--an attitude that many men would find off-putting, especially in the early 50s.Barry Sullivan plays the navy physician that Esther Williams pursues. I found his performance drab, making it difficult to understand her fascination with him.Vivian Blaine practically plays Miss Adelaide from Guys and Dolls here, a role she perfected on Broadway in 1950 and, later, in the film (1955).Esther gets her moments in the pool, of course. As usual, the aqua routines are not really a part of the overall plot. And the studio managed to throw in a number of music and dance numbers that are the same way, so that Esther is an audience member during them. It's pretty remarkable that the local dinner club features Billy Eckstine. In a show on the base, we find Keenan Wynn, Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van and a full selection of orchestra, drill teams, and choral groups.The dance number featuring Debbie and Bobby was fun. Both are so fresh that their roles are uncredited. Singin' in the Rain was released in the same year, so who knew Debbie would be such a hit when Skirts Ahoy! came to theaters?I particularly enjoyed the performances of the (5) DeMarco Sisters. Great harmonies, great energy.The film has an improbable resolution, but the entire plot is merely a device to separate the swimming and musical numbers.

The Harold Warren\Ralph Blane tune lyric quoted in my summary more or less sums up the attitude of MGM's 1952 Esther Williams vehicle SKIRTS AHOY! regarding the relationship between men and women. All three of the featured characters begin their nine weeks' stints at Chicago's Great Lakes Naval Training Center after matrimonial snafus. With a "50:1" male:female ratio, most of the recruits seem hell-bent upon attaining the rank of "Mrs." Other memorable lyrics include "It takes a whole lotta water to make a WAVE; it only takes a little bit of water to make a squirt" (sung during a chicks-get-wet-on-stage sequence that precedes FLASHDANCE's similar spectacle by decades) and "what use is a moonlit night, without a guy to hold you tight?" In between the singing, SKIRTS AHOY! viewers pick up such bon mots as "plumbers know everything there is to know about EVERYTHING--plumbers and garbage men."Perhaps the nautical highlight, as least for Esther Williams' swim fans, is when this diva of wetness cavorts underwater with a pair of urchins (played by Russell and Kathy Tongay) with a number of yellow props, including a wooden ladder and hula hoop prototypes. Unlike TOP GUN, these trainees are never thrust into a "hot zone," however.

A very dull musical, not comparable with what director Sidney Lanfield had made at 20th.Century Fox in the thirties. No wonder this was his last picture. An example of the difference between what the Freed unit and the Pasternak unit were doing at MGM at the time. Of course, Esther Williams was as beautiful as ever.