Week-End in Havana with Carmen

 

After suffering along with Lana and the girls through Imitation, I was ready for a lighter entertainment. My salvation arrived when I checked the latest releases (I'm renting, as well as watching my own collection), and saw the one and only Carmen Miranda staring back at me. Famous for her wild outfits and broken English, fortunately Carmen doesn't know the meaning of the word "restraint" in any language, ensuring viewers of Week-End a wild, one-of-a-kind experience. There are many imitators, but nothing beats the original (aptly nicknamed) "Brazilian Bombshell"- when Carmen jumps on (and almost off) the Technicolor screen at the outset of the film, singing the catchy title number, she's a knockout both visually and performance-wise. Miranda has a meatier part here than in some of her Fox musicals, giving her ample opportunity to walk off with an array of scenes, while her talented costars Alice Faye, Cesar Romero, and Apollo-like John Payne wait it out for an opportunity to make some sort of impression on audiences. 80 affable minutes breeze by in this 1941 pre-war musical, and the DVD features an amazingly clean and bright print. The film offers zero sophistication, but tons of fun.

Oh yeah, on the personal front, I finally got a (Federal) job, and a half-decent one at that, starting next month. This probably means less time online after April, so I'll have a good excuse for meagre postings.