Hepburn: Couldn’t Sing Or Act
So saith Emma Thompson about Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady,” a movie that Thompson has been re-writing for a new film version. It’s not controversial to say that Miss Audrey wasn’t much of a singer (that’s why Marni Nixon dubbed her singing voice, duh). As for the acting part, well, being a movie star is at least as much about how you look up there on the big screen as it is about how well you express emotion. And in the appearance department, I’ll take Hepburn any old day over Thompson. I’m sure Emma would reply that being a star isn’t quite the same as being an actor. Point taken; but I don’t want to see “My Fair Lady” on the big screen without star power: something has to distract us from the stupidity of some of the songs and the sexism of the book (which Emma is trying to fix, to make more Shavian).
I have *never* liked MY FAIR LADY, which, like certain celebrities I could name, was shoved into my ears and down my throat practically from the time I was born. You couldn’t go ANYWHERE without hearing something from that miserable score. The “book” is almost as stoopid as the songs. And “sexist” is putting it very nicely. I remember seeing the movie with my family during its first run at the Valentine Theater in Toledo, Ohio, and I remember wanting to leave at intermission (remember when movies over 2 hours had intermissions?).
This weather is sure making me bitchy.