Funny Face

Starring:Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng, Dovima, Suzy Parker, Sunny Hartnett, Jean Del Val, Virginia Gibson, Sue England, Ruta Lee, Alex Gerry, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Cecile Rogers, Forbes Murray, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, Gabriel Curtiz, Albert Godderis, Roger Edens
Director: Stanley Donen
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Fred Astaire plays a fashion photographer based on real-life cameraman Richard Avedon, in this entertaining musical directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The story finds Astaire's character turning Audrey Hepburn into a chic Paris model--not a tough premise to buy, especially within this film's air of enchantment and surrounded by a great Gershwin score. Based on an unproduced play, this is one of the best films from the latter part of Astaire's career. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Kay Thompson Keeps This 'Funny Face' from Sagging.......2007-06-12

Better state up front that I'm not a huge musicals fan. There've been a few I love (The Sound of Music comes to mind) but mostly I find them frivolous and tedious. Why, you might wonder, did I watch this, then? Don't know, 'zactly. Read a little squib about it somewhere, the library had it on hand and, voila, there it was in my video player one night.

That said, I can't say I enjoyed it all that much, though it contained one great surprise: Kay Thompson--who, I just learned, was the author of the wonderful "Eloise" books, and who portrays fashion magazine powerhouse Maggie Prescott (a high-energy prototype of Meryl Streep's "Devil Wears Prada" Miranda Priestly character)--was the shining star in this film as far as I was concerned.(Phew! Thought I'd never get to the end of that sentence!). Thompson could sing, dance, AND act--a triumverate her two co-stars each fell apart on one way or another. Astaire could dance up a storm, but his singing is mediochre and his acting, well, let's just say he's (for the most part) likeable anyway. Hepburn is a marvelous actress, an (surprise, surprise!) excellent dancer, but her singing....eh.

Well. Put these three together into a powdered sugar of a show with excellent set design, fun dance numbers, but forgettable tunes and you get a three star out of five result (raised up from two, to my mind, just because of the star power of Hepburn/Astaire, and the fun, high-powered performance by Thompson.)

I have to agree with others here who were given the willies by the age difference between Astaire and Hepburn (the same feeling one got with the earlier Daddy Long Legs, where they paired AARP-member Astaire with the pre-pubescent Leslie Caron...What were they thinking?) But the lovers' lack of chemistry doesn't stop there. I never believed for an instant that they were in love in the movie and, when they sail away on the raft surrounded by swans and doves with (no doubt) clipped wings that prevented them from flying away in fear and disgust, I found myself snorting haughtily at the whole premise.

Watch it, not for a show that's going to wow you, but for the entertaining dance numbers, the colorful sets, and for Kay Thompson.

A Classic.......2007-03-09

It's Audry Hepburn at her best. It's a must have for the classic collector. Audry and Fred make an awsome dancing couple.

The music and dancing saves this movie.......2007-02-10

I had to write a review because I want to respond the people who don't like the Astaire/Hepburn relationship. It's just a vehicle to get these two actors together in a song and dance movie to showcase Fred Astaire. She dances well which was a surprise to me. So he was somewhat older? He was a monstrous star and he still danced really well.

Having said that the story was a bit too predictable. The overall feel of the film was just OK. Can't fault the Gershwin music though and the dancing was good.

Watchable.......2007-02-01

It's always a pleasure to see Fred's legwork, but his relationship with Hepburn is completely implausible due to huge age difference and weak plot.

SSSWondeful.......2007-01-19

Get this ... see the movie that has the "Girls got to dance ..." AC/DC commercial. This movie is an ARTISTIC gem ... Hepburn's full talent spectrum is on display. Astaire/Hepburn ... leap of the screen *****

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Funny Face

Average customer rating:

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Funny Face
Starring: Various
Manufacturer: Jwl Sales
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Maggie and The Ferocious Beast - The Nowhere Land Parade (Includes 5 Adventure Stories - Desert Treasure / Just A Little Off The Top/Soup Bowls And Roller Coasters / Guess Who I Am!)
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Let's Play a Game
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Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - School Days/The Cecil Bunions Detective Agency/The Home of The Kindly Giant/Hamilton's Important Letter/The Big Hat
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Adventures in Nowhere Land

ASIN: B0001J2JVS
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Average customer rating:

Funny Face (50th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: Audrey Hepburn , Fred Astaire , Kay Thompson , Michel Auclair , and Robert Flemyng
Director: Stanley Donen
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Jane Eyre
Madame Curie
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ASIN: B000RZIGUO
Release Date: 2007-10-02

Audrey Hepburn 5-Pack (Funny Face - SCE, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina - 1954, Paris When it Sizzles)

Average customer rating:

Your sunny, funny face

Audrey Hepburn 5-Pack (Funny Face - SCE, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina - 1954, Paris When it Sizzles)
Starring: Audrey Hepburn
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

Your sunny, funny face.......2007-06-20

Audrey Hepburn was -- and remains -- the perfect illustration of elegance and sophistication in Hollywood. A lot of actresses have tried to imitate her look, but they couldn't manage the same grace and skill, both onscreen and off.

And the "Audrey Hepburn Five Pac" brings together five of the films that helped shape that image, including her three top starmaking roles. Okay, they're not her most impressive. But even when they're uneven ("Paris When It Sizzles"), her movies are charming, sweet and just a little bit quirky.

Bored young Princess Ann (Hepburn) goes on a "Roman Holiday," when she has a bad reaction to a sedative. She wanders straight into struggling American journalist Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). When he realizes she's the missing princess, he takes her on a fun vacation in Rome, with his pal taking photos for a hit article. Yet he's also falling in love with Ann... and she's torn between love and duty.

"Sabrina" (Hepburn) is the daughter of the chauffeur at the palatial Larabee estate, and is in love with the ne'er-do-well second son, David (William Holden). After a stint at a cooking school, where she gains sophistication and confidence, she returns to enthrall David. But since his brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) has arranged a business marriage for David, Linus starts to woo Sabrina instead... and falls for her as well.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a daily ritual for Holly Golightly, a social butterfly. When kept man Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into a nearby apartment, he is instantly enchanted by the ditzy, sweet-natured Holly. But for all Holly's fun, Paul starts to realize that all is not well with her. As Holly's life starts to deteriorate, Paul sets out to show her what her life will be like without real love.

"Funny Face" becomes a concern for a fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) who is assisting a fashion queen with the new "pink" look and the intellectual model look. After a disastrous shoot at a boho bookstore, Avery is struck by the owner Jo's (Hepburn) look, and convinces her to become their newest model -- and she only agrees to get to Paris so she can meet her favorite philosopher. But she's also falling in love with Dick and her modelling career.

"Paris When It Sizzles" features Richard Benson (William Holden), a laconic playboy screenwriter, who procrastinated on his forthcoming script until just a few days before the deadline. So he hurriedly hires a secretary, Gabrielle (Hepburn) to help him come up with an idea and write it -- except that all they can come up with, as they fall in love, are all sorts of completely bizarre scenarios.

Yes, they are all romantic comedies, completely unrelated except that all of them have Audrey Hepburn. But all three are fun, well-written ("You can't live here! I live here!" "Hi, neighbor!"), and taking place in chic apartments, palatial mansions, Parisian runways, and the streets of Rome. And each has a theme: love that doesn't come easy, whether the problem is one of the people involved, parents or just different personalities.

There's also slapstick comedy (David injuring his butt on champagne glasses), and more sophisticated comedy (like when Anna and Joe pretend that they were speeding on their way to get married). And Hepburn provides plenty of it, such as her crazy club dance or her encounter with a vampire.

Unlike many actresses, Hepburn's best-known roles were NOT all alike, nor were they all carbon copies of her -- we have wistful bohemians, party girls, timid teens, and chained-back princesses. Even when we shouldn't really like the characters, she gave them warmth, sensitivity and likability that can't be faked. And she could be very funny too -- it's hard not to laugh when Holly yells "Timber!", as a drunken guest keels over.

The Audrey Hepburn Five Pack clusters five of Hepburn's most chic, charming movies, for those are just falling in love, or who appreciate a good romantic comedy. Charming, cute and sweet.

Average customer rating:

Kay Thompson Keeps This 'Funny Face' from Sagging
A Classic
The music and dancing saves this movie
Watchable
SSSWondeful

Funny Face [Region 2]
Starring: Audrey Hepburn , Fred Astaire , Kay Thompson , Michel Auclair , and Robert Flemyng
Director: Stanley Donen
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Paris When It Sizzles
Roman Holiday (Special Collector's Edition)
How to Steal a Million
Charade
Sabrina

ASIN: B00005NJJF

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Kay Thompson Keeps This 'Funny Face' from Sagging.......2007-06-12

A Classic.......2007-03-09

It's Audry Hepburn at her best. It's a must have for the classic collector. Audry and Fred make an awsome dancing couple.

The music and dancing saves this movie.......2007-02-10

Watchable.......2007-02-01

It's always a pleasure to see Fred's legwork, but his relationship with Hepburn is completely implausible due to huge age difference and weak plot.

SSSWondeful.......2007-01-19

Average customer rating:

Kay Thompson Keeps This 'Funny Face' from Sagging
A Classic
The music and dancing saves this movie
Watchable
SSSWondeful

Funny Face [Region 2]
Starring: Audrey Hepburn , Fred Astaire , Kay Thompson , Michel Auclair , and Robert Flemyng
Director: Stanley Donen
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Paris When It Sizzles
Roman Holiday (Special Collector's Edition)
How to Steal a Million
Charade
Sabrina

ASIN: B00005M6S1

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Kay Thompson Keeps This 'Funny Face' from Sagging.......2007-06-12

A Classic.......2007-03-09

It's Audry Hepburn at her best. It's a must have for the classic collector. Audry and Fred make an awsome dancing couple.

The music and dancing saves this movie.......2007-02-10

Watchable.......2007-02-01

It's always a pleasure to see Fred's legwork, but his relationship with Hepburn is completely implausible due to huge age difference and weak plot.

SSSWondeful.......2007-01-19

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Funny Face/The Missing Bass/Rainy Day/Right Next Door/Hamilton Blows His Horn/Pack Up Your Troubles/Recipe For Trouble/Hamilton The Ham

Average customer rating:

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Funny Face/The Missing Bass/Rainy Day/Right Next Door/Hamilton Blows His Horn/Pack Up Your Troubles/Recipe For Trouble/Hamilton The Ham

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Maggie and The Ferocious Beast - The Nowhere Land Parade (Includes 5 Adventure Stories - Desert Treasure / Just A Little Off The Top/Soup Bowls And Roller Coasters / Guess Who I Am!)
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - School Days/The Cecil Bunions Detective Agency/The Home of The Kindly Giant/Hamilton's Important Letter/The Big Hat
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Maggie's Halloween Caper (Includes 5 Adventure Stories)
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Puzzles and Picnics
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Let's Play a Game

ASIN: B000FAKFKU

Product Description

When Beast loses a tooth, he becomes too embarrassed to pose for a Nowhere Land scrapbook that Maggie is trying to put together. Eventually she and Hamilton convince him that he looks just as ferocious without the tooth. Includes 8 Adventurous Stories: -Funny Smile -The Missing Bass -Rainy Day -Right Next Door -Hamilton Blows His Horn -Pack Up Your Troubles -Recipe For Trouble -Hamilton The Ham

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