Funny Face

No movie better showcases Audrey Hepburn's gamine beauty or Fred Astaire's suave dance moves than Funny Face. This Pygmalion-esque musical follows a bookish killjoy in Greenwich Village as she is turned into a glamorous fashion model in Paris. It is everything we love about classic American films – upbeat, romantic, and undeniably, irresistibly charming.

 

The film opens on the sassy and imperious Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson), editor of Quality magazine, and Dick Avery (Fred Astaire), a charismatic photographer. During a photo shoot, Maggie commandeers a philosophy bookshop much to the protest of Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), the owlish salesgirl. Seeing Jo in the background of one the pictures, Avery insists that Maggie recruit her "funny face" for Quality. Jo, who thinks fashion is "chichi", agrees to model in Paris as a means to meet the renowned philosopher, Professor Flostre. Dressed in classic Givenchy in the romantic City of Lights, Jo starts to fall in love with fashion and her photographer.

 

The on-set chemistry between Astaire and Hepburn during musical numbers, like "S'Wonderful", is a reflection of their warm off-screen friendship and mutual respect. In order to cast both celebrities, Paramount Pictures had to tell each that the other had already signed on, correctly predicting that they would jump at the chance to work together. Post-millennium audiences may be perturbed by the thirty-year age difference between Astaire and Hepburn, but after all, Audrey has always been too classy for men her own age. In fact, Audrey explicitly stated that she would not take the part unless she had a chance to dance with Fred Astaire, whom she idolized in her youth.

 

Funny Face magnificently showcases both actors' dancing and singing talents. Hepburn was ecstatic when she finally got to draw upon her earlier ballet training for the jazzy Montmartre café scene – footage which was later used in a 2006 Gap commercial for black skinny jeans. Unlike in My Fair Lady (1964), in which Marne Nixon dubbed her singing, Audrey's beloved "Moon River" voice gets the chance to shine in happy and wistful musical numbers. Fred Astaire flawlessly complements Hepburn with an equal amount of grace and elegance in his singing and dancing, in the songs "Funny Face" and "Let's Kiss and Make Up". It was a match made in Hollywood Heaven.

 

Funny Face remains standing as one of the best classics for its light merriment, iconic cast members, high fashion pedigree, and enchanting story. S'Wonderful!