Rating: 
Summary: Magical musical
Review: A beautiful intellectual (Audrey Hepburn) is recruited by a successful fashion photographer (Fred Astaire) and an aggressive fashion magazine publisher (Kay Thompson) for a prestigious Paris photo shoot, setting the stage for romance, comedy, and lots of song and dance. There's plenty to enjoy here: Hepburn is luminous, Astaire is graceful, and Thompson is explosive. Okay, the film's veneration of the fashion scene and simultaneous denigration of the intellectual scene betrays questionable values. And, okay, Hepburn is not very convincing as an intellectual and Astaire is clearly too old for her. But when Hepburn and Astaire begin to dance to those great Gershwin tunes, who cares? Director Stanley Donen's playful direction and inventive use of color adds to the fun.
Rating: 
Summary: FUNNY FACE: They Don't Make 'Em Like This Anymore.
Review: For years I'd heard about this film. I'm a fan of Audrey Hepburn, not particularly of Astaire, but got a deal on the DVD so what the heck. I was surprised at how good this 1957 picture really is. Here are the ingredients: Hepburn, Astaire, songs by the Gershwins, Paris locations, high fashion, an Eliza Doolittle-like transformation, and (the real kicker) KAY THOMPSON. This woman is worth the price alone. A cross between Eve Arden and, maybe, Bea Arthur, Kay was a renaissance woman: vocal arranger, singer, pianist, actress, songwriter, and author of the "Eloise" books (an illustrated series of so-called children's books concerning a spoiled little girl who lives at the Plaza in New York.) Thompson died in 1998 in her 90's, and FUNNY FACE serves as a lasting tribute to one facet of her talent. Not bad, considering the star power she's up against in this wonderful Stanley Donen film. Trust me, this picture is like eating a rich dessert, in secret, while on a strict diet.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Fashion Musical!
Review: Anyone who loves Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday knows that Audrey Hepburn is one of the most magical women ever captured on film. But there is something special about Funny Face. It captured a part of the real Audrey -- part book worm, part great dancer, part reluctant star. The "On How to be Lovely" scene with Patricia Neal is one of the most glorious moments in film. You just cannot help but smile when they start singing that song. It will make you fall in love with Audrey over and over again!
Rating:
Summary: An interesting, not funny face.
Review: Well, funny isn't how I'd describe Audrey Hepburn's face. Dazzling, luminescent, one-of-a-kind... but funny? I'm not laughing. I more side with Fred Astaire's character Dick Avery, who says "What you call funny, I call interesting."Seriously though, how does a shy, introverted, intellectual bluestocking who is a firm believer in empathicalism became a fashion model for Quality magazine? Part of it has to do with photographer Dick Avery blowing up some snaps of her after an uninvited photo session in her Greenwich Village bookstore, and selling her to Maggie Prescott, editor of Quality. Another has to do with a photo shoot in Paris for the new layout of Quality, in exchange for which she'll get to meet Professor Flostre, the philosophical founder of empathicalism and her hero. The best scenes in the movie are the photo shoots, which shows Jo doing poses in the rain, holding balloons, and tearfully standing at a departing railway station. But the standout has to be her running down the steps of the Louvre in a sleeveless red Givenchy gown, the statue of the Winged Victory behind her, emulating the famed statute. Another is Jo's dance in the nightclub, expressing herself after Avery pokes fun at her empathicalist beliefs. It's a spontaneous number set to a upbeat jazz rhythms, with Jo wearing a black body stocking, and it would be the last time Audrey would use her dancing talents in a movie. The movie's attitude to the French beatnik and intellectual culture that began in the 1950's is clearly and unfortunately contemptuous, not surprising, considering that America in the 50's was in the growth-oriented prosperity, which had no room for intellectual thought. The concept of empathicalism, the philosophy of putting one in another person's shoes via emotion and manner of speech. That is kind of sabotaged by Avery, who speaks in a charming manner to two Frenchman while using insulting words. The only sympathetic and likeable character here is Jo Stockton, played by Audrey, of course, but the motivations of her character selling out by working for a fashion magazine, which is so phony, materialistic, and shallow, is questionable. Still, Audrey is a breathe of fresh air, whatever she wears. As for the characters played by Fred Astaire and nightclub performer Kay Thompson (Maggie), they're not exactly laudable. Fred Astaire's Avery is nice but shallow, and the chemistry between him and Audrey isn't credible. At least he could still dance. His character is based on famed fashion photographer Richard Avedon, as indeed is some of the story, where Avedon trained and married one of his models. As for Thompson, her brusque, bossy, brash, and downright aggressive attitude does not endear her well. Not content with having her crew make a mess of the Embryo Bookstore in the beginning, she then has the nerve to push her outside until the photo shoot is finished! Her character is a cariacature of either Diana Vreeland of Vogue or Carmel Snow of Harper's Bazaar. The costumes by Givenchy are great, as are the musical numbers by Gershwin, especially the "He Loves and She Loves" and "S'wonderful" numbers, both of which feature Fred and Audrey dancing together. BTW, Astaire and his sister Adele had already danced to this in the Broadway show of the same name back in 1927. And this is the first of three movies with director Stanley Donen for Audrey, the others being Charade and Two For The Road. Donen of course made Fred Astaire dance on the ceiling in Royal Wedding years before Lionel Richie did for MTV. So, "what's wrong with bringing out a girl who has character, spirit, and intelligence?" Well, nothing if she's allowed to stay true to her beliefs. Dated by today's standards, due to its endorsement of shallow materialistic values as opposed to something more genuine and intellectual, redeemed by Audrey and some of the songs.
Rating:
Summary: Fashion and Fancy
Review: Here we have a story of fashion and romance. Givenchy provides the fashionable clothes. George and Ira Gershwin provide the music to set the scene for romance. Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire provide the romantic intrigue, costarring Kay Thompson for added comic relief. The story takes place in New York City and in Paris on the Seine River in France. These choice ingredients mix well to give the viewer an inviting slice of life in the fashion world, seen as songs, dances and splendid fashion shows. There is even a spoof of French philosophy. With excellent timing and camera work, and the consultancy of Richard Avedon, this film and its story present a happy moment to be revisited by an engaged film fan. Director Stanley Donen has made it happen with a screenplay by Leonard Gershe, and choreography by Eugene Loring and Fred Astaire.
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