White Christmas

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Being that this title has evidently been a strong Christmas title for decades now, I finally decided to check it out this year. The main reason I've kept away from it, is because an old school Christmas musical just isn't exactly my cup of tea. Musicals are extremely hit or miss with me; not among my favourite genres, but every now and then, one comes along that will sweep me off my feet (for example, I loved 'La La Land').

So, exactly how well did this special do with me? Admittedly, I just kinda meet it in the middle. It's perfectly fine for what it is, I can recommend it to people, but I might end up being the odd man out in my overall appreciation for it.

Two soldiers, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) leave the army after World War II to become a hit song and dance act. The pair end up following a sister act, featuring two lovely young women named Betty and Judy Haynes (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, respectively) to Vermont. The group finds themselves at an inn, owned by their old General, Waverly (Dean Jagger), trying to save it from failing with various song and dance numbers put on for the inn's audiences.

In the end, at least for yours truly, it ended up being perfctly enjoyable. However, its probably not a title on the ever-growing Christmas movie list that I will end up revisiting time and time again, making it a sort of tradition. For me, there are several other Christmas movies that FAR surpass this - and classics, too. The 1951 'Scrooge' film, featuring Alastaire Sim, or even 'It's A Wonderful Life' are just so much better for getting a grasp on the spirit of things, in my opinion.

With that said though, again, I'm not here to tell you this movie is no good. It's perfectly fine for what it is, and I honestly have no real criticism about it as a whole. I liked it more than I disliked it, appreciated the song and dance numbers, acting and the fact that it's not what you'd call an all-out musical, so much as a bunch of stage performances thrown together (in other words, no random breaking out into song). I tend to like random breaking out into song, but things for this film just flowed nicely with the idea of stage performances. Perhaps this is due to who is acting in this, and it makes it feel more classic.

For some, THIS will be their Christmas classic tradition, and I can agree with anyone who loves it that it's well worth checking out, to see where you stand on it. Personally though, it just doesn't strike the right chords with me, and its a title that may just kinda linger with other Christmas titles I don't tend to check out for years at a time.

3/5

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