31 Days of Joy: Holiday Inn

“What brings you here on this bright and uninviting day?”

Filmology Rating: 2.5 out of 4

While some people try to avoid watching the black and white holiday classics; It’s a Wonderful Life, The Shop Around the Corner, and Holiday Inn just to name a few; but I always find the classics to have an immense amount of charm. Instead of throwing computer generated monsters in your face, they rely on compelling stories and old fashioned Hollywood charm to bring back nostalgia from years gone by.

Jim Hardy, played by Bing Crosby, is tired of performing night after night at the local nightclubs like a circus monkey leaves that mondain life to start an inn. The inn named Holiday Inn will only be open on holidays and will provide only the best entertainment, but when Jim’s old partner Ted Hanover, played by Fred Astaire, shows up in the Inn one night jealousy erupts in the festive air.

Before getting too deep into the film we need to address the troubling blackface scene in the film. While the song, “Abraham”, might have the best intentions, it comes across completely offensive and it’s simply stomach turning to watch. While most television edits of the film have taken the scene out, it still remains on the blu-ray and in some ways glad that it does. In many ways Hollywood has become more sensitive as to how it depicts race, so while Holiday Inn is tone deaf, it’s reassuring that we as a society have taken action against those who feel that these actions are acceptable. Once again, I don’t believe this one scene makes the entire film unwatchable but it definitely needs to be said once again that this is unacceptable and that we as a film community need to make sure we don’t fall into the same racist traps that our ancestors once did.

The premise of the film is it’s greatest strength being an inn that is only open on holidays, which leads to some fantastic songs written by Irving Berlin. Keep in mind while the music is good it might sound a little too simplistic and classical to the modern ear, especially for those who have the “Hamilton” soundtrack on repeat. Still this is the film that gave us one of the best selling songs of all time with “White Christmas” and it’s a song that most people cannot go the holiday season without hearing, which cements this film as a classic. Other than “White Christmas” you are given some great songs such as “Happy Holiday” and “I’ll Capture Your Heart Singing” which will become earworms that you won’t forget until the new year bells ring.

For those who don’t know about the momentous films that starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Top Hat and Swing Time, you probably don’t know about the genius of Astaire’s choreography. To say that the man was a prodigy with his feet wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Just watching his “Let’s Say it with Firecrackers” number had me on the edge of my seat hoping that he wouldn’t miss a step and end up with a burnt leg causing permanent damage to his dancing career. While Holiday Inn might not provide the most intrawhling choreography from Astaire, it offers a good jumping on point that will make you want to check out his other works.

After praising the film, it’s now time to talk about the biggest blunder that the film makes which is that the characters simply aren’t endearing or interesting to follow. It’s like being invited to a Christmas party in which you don’t know anyone and you are being a wallflower simply watching another wallflower, which is simply uncinematic. Crosby and Astaire have talent to spare but when the characters are rather bland, and at times plain terrible, it becomes tedious to follow them when they aren’t singing or dancing. I never found myself invested in the numerous love triangles, which makes the film feel like a drag at times with me longing for the film to stop talking and start moving.

When leaving the joyous halls of Holiday Inn I began to wonder if I would recommend a stay at the festive hall. If this is your first stay at Holiday Inn I can wholeheartedly recommend a stay but if you are a repeat visitor you may notice your stay is starting to get a little stale and perhaps you are even overstaying your welcome.

Rating: Rent It

-Jonny G