Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

People are voting emotionally.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It's true the best things happen when you're dancing!Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers star in the film that won the first Oscar for Best Song - The Continental.Ginger stars as Mimi, a woman seeking a divorce from her absentee husband. Her Aunt makes arrangements to have it appear as though there has been impropriety. It is ASSUMED that Fred Astaire is the "arrangement" and calamities follow, along with lots of dancing of course.Cute. Worth the rental!

. . . but Fred Astaire goes Jimmy one better by playing a shameless DEARSTALKER in this two-hit musical, THE GAY DIV0RCEE. Though "The Continental" is primarily notable for being a tune in the tradition of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" (that is, a song that NEVER ends: "The Continental" drags on in one form or another for nearly 17 minutes!), as well as for winning the first-ever "Best Song" Oscar (apparently more Academy members ran marathons back then), Cole Porter's "Night and Day" steals "The Continental's" thunder. Beyond these two musical numbers, the next most remarkable ditty in this sex farce involves lyrics encouraging folks to Bump Uglies or Knock Knees or something. Though the movie studio RKO is desperately trying to ape Warner Bros.' Busby Berkeley in their geometric "Continental" chorus line groupings, this only serves to dilute the Oomph which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would otherwise provide to it. During the early going of DIV0RCEE, Freddy is nearly as creepy stalking Ginger as his ROYAL WEDDING character is in pursuing a Real Life sister, and likely could give Mr. Krueger a run for his money if they had a Creep-Out Race on ELM STREET.

Mimi Glossop wants a divorce.Dancer Guy Holden's lawyer friend assists her in that.The dancer falls for Mimi.The Gay Divorcée (1934)Mark Sandrich and produced by Pandro S. Berman.The music is by Max Steiner. is directed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers really hit it off.This is the second of their musicals, and the first one to feature the duo as the main attraction.The rest of the cast is great, too.Alice Brady is Aunt Hortense, who has been married to Egbert Fitzgerald, played by Edward Everett Horton.Erik Rhodes is Rodolfo Tonetti.Eric Blore is The Waiter.Betty Grable portrays Guest.Lillian Miles is Singer, Continental Number.William Austin plays Cyril Glossop.I really enjoyed the "Knock Your Feet" bit.Also "The Continental" was most amusing.That song won an Oscar.A really enjoyable musical delight.

Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) meets Mimi (Ginger Rogers) and pursues her for marriage. However, unknown to him, she is already married and is planning a set-up involving a hired co-respondent to facilitate her divorce. She mistakes Guy for the hired gigolo which makes for an amusing scene in her bedroom. However, events work out so that everyone is happy at the end.As with all the Fred and Ginger films, there are great songs and dances. They have 3 dances together, 2 of them with the songs "Night And Day" and "The Continental", and a routine at the end of the film. The other songs are "Needle In A Haystack" sung by Fred, and "Don't Let It Bother You" sung by a chorus of showgirls at the beginning of the film. The film also has Betty Grable singing and dancing in "Let's K-nock K-nees" alongside Edward Everett Horton and you just can't help but wonder how she and Fred Astaire may have done as a dance team. Not that Ginger Rogers is bad.The supporting cast are all good, especially Erik Rhodes as "Rodolfo Tonetti" - "Your wife is safe with Tonetti......he prefer spaghetti". It's a story of misunderstandings and it has genuine funny moments and funny lines delivered by the whole cast. Watch it and enjoy the magic of the 1930's - great sets and some black-and-white escapism. The story is ripped-off with pretty much the same cast in a film that they did the following year - "Top Hat" - but that film isn't as amusing or as good as this one.