It is hard to say you don’t like a classic movie like Funny Face. It has so many pluses to it. It’s a quirky, romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. Sounds perfect right? Well it almost is in nearly every way. They don’t make movies like this anymore. This is like the grandfather of the modern day romantic comedy and I, personally, wish that the writers of today would take a hint from Leonard Gershe, the writer of this film.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of this film, Paramount has released Funny Face: The 50th Anniversary Edition. It was made available to the general public on October 2, 2007. If you get the chance to buy this movie, I suggest you take it. It will make an excellent addition to any DVD collection and it highlights the beauty of the classic film, which is something I wish Hollywood would get back to making instead of the drivel it seems to pump out on a daily basis.

Funny Face is about Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn). She is an intelligent woman who works in a bookstore. Jo has absolutely no interest in fashion. She thinks it’s a silly, frivolous obsession. Coincidentally, she ends up meeting Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) when he takes over the bookstore with magazine editor, Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson). The two want to make their models “look” smarter, so to put them in different situations, they use a bookstore, amongst other locations.

After kicking Jo out of her own bookstore, Dick and Maggie trash the place. Dick feels guilty and he tries to help her clean it up when they let her back in, but she kicks him out and tells him to go away. While she tells him to go, she’s already thinking about him when he leaves, and thus begins the classic, I hate him but I love him romantic theme. Jo is sure she’s never going to see Dick again, but Maggie comes up with an idea for the magazine. She is going to take an every day plain Jane (or Jo in this case) and transform her into a fashion superstar. While Maggie doesn’t want Jo, Dick is adamant about hiring her for the transformation.

Maggie finally gives in and the two trick her into coming to the magazine. They tell her they need her to bring books to the magazine and when she shows up, Maggie refuses to pay her for the books until she lets them give her a makeover. Jo runs away because she doesn’t want a makeover. Honestly, I can’t say I blame Jo. If Maggie came at me like that, I’d run, too! Dick goes to Jo and convinces her to be their “plain Jane”. They will be shooting in Paris and since she’s always wanted to go to Paris, she agrees. From there, Funny Face gets more romantic. How could it not with Audrey and Fred in Paris?

The visual quality is similar to previous releases of Funny Face. It was transferred at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The quality was pretty good, especially for a movie made in 1957. You really can’t get any better than this. It is in widescreen format and was designed to be enhanced for 16 x 9 TVS. The picture quality seems slightly better even if it has the same or similar transfer to past releases. You can choose between Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and the original mono version. Both are nice, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 is especially nice on an HD, big screen television. There is dubbing in French Spanish, and Portuguese. There are also subtitles in these three languages as well as English for those who wish to read along or those with hearing impairments.

There are five different bonus features available on Funny Face: The 50th Anniversary Edition. Features include a photo gallery, a theatrical trailer for the movie, and a featurette called “Paramount in the 1950s”, which references all of the films made by Paramount during the 1950s. There are two additional featurettes as well “The Fashion Designer and His Muse” and “Parisian Dreams”. While this may not seem like a lot for a special edition, it is much more then most DVDs give you and they are a welcome addition since most of the key players are deceased.

Bottom Line: Funny Face: The 50th Anniversary Edition is a must have. You can’t dispute the quality, the acting, storyline, the plot, the artistic quality, and everything else about this film. They don’t make films like this anymore. I recommend you add it to your collection now. This is one you will want to pull out on any night to watch with your date, your spouse, your girlfriends, or anyone else who is in the mood for a true romantic comedy.

Rating:

Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Funny Face, Musical, Audrey Hepburn, Classic, Movie, Paramount