Quite a loverly film, really. While musicals aren’t usually my cup of tea, this one is actually rather charming. Audrey Hepburn is adorable as a piece of street-trash turned into a dignified lady and Rex Harrison is perfect as a repugnant, self-serving professor of phonetics. Harrison’s character takes Hepburn under his wing on a bet from a colleague. He feels that he can make a proper citizen out of anyone, and Hepburn gives him a real run for his money.
As an American, some of the language and humor goes straight over my head simply because I don’t know what certain things mean in British English. Other than an excusable language barrier, the only fault I have is with how neatly everything wraps up. Sure, it works fine in theatre but not so well in film. Perhaps that’s the blow suffered by all film adaptations for musicals, but not really. I’ve seen some tremendous film adaptations that are worthy of a four star or higher rating (West Side Story). There’s just something too perfect about the ending which disagrees with my nature.
As I’ve been mentioning in some other reviews for older films, My Fair Lady runs a tad long with some slow pacing at times, but the sum of all its parts is something quite splendid. The music is delightful and memorable, while the writing is rather witty and smart. It’s got just the right combination of style and substance to make it worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of musical theatre. Loverly, quite loverly.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
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