Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . during this live-action fleshing out of the Disney Princess dream romance meme, HIGH SOCIETY spawned a herd of young actresses vying with each other to become the next True Life Fairy Tale Royal Lady. Though this gaggle of Traci Lords failed to produce another Grace Kelly Rags-to-Royalty story during the 1900s, and though HIGH SOCIETY cannot hold a candle to the PHILADELPHIA STORY upon which it's based, and though Cole Porter seems way off his game here with such rhymes as "Circe" and "mercy," and though Bing Crosby crooning jazz duets with Satchmo is almost as jarring as a Andy Griffiths-Gomer Pyle-Louis Armstrong bebop trio would be, and though Ms. Kelly flight to Monaco would be explained if she saw Katherine Hepburn creating her role for the first time AFTER the premier of HIGH SOCIETY, this flick MIGHT be a better movie than FINIAN'S RAINBOW. Perhaps Prince Rainier memorized "George's" line to Ms. Kelly to lure her across the Atlantic: "There's a beautiful purity about you, like a statue--I want to put you up on a pedestal where you belong; where I can adore and worship you." Though Frank Sinatra sings to her that "I don't care if you're called Miss Frigidaire," and her movie dad compares her to a bronze sculpture, HIGH SOCIETY's plot drips with the potential for at least a four-way, and Ms. Kelly accurately predicts the particulars of her Real Life demise on the roadways of Monaco during her wild drive to the cemetery with Old Blue Eyes.

vincentlynch-moonoi I'm one of those who don't admire this film much.On the positive side, it's a lush production. It has a Cole Porter score -- my favorite composer -- although I'm impressed with only a few of the songs: "True Love" (of course), "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (with a swellegant turn by Celeste Holm), and the bright "Well, Did You Evah!" (in a terrific duet by Bing and Frank); the other songs are forgettable.Another positive note are a number of the supporting actors -- Celeste Holm as a reporter, Louis Calhern as an uncle, Sidney Blackmer as the father, Margalo Gillmore as the mother, and young Lydia Reed as the younger sister.Unfortunately, I can't say as much for the lead cast. Bing Crosby is always very natural on screen, and is here. Grace Kelly has another turn as a spoiled brat, and as far as I'm concerned flubs the role terribly. Frank Sinatra plays the smart ass that he seemed to be in real life...which may have gone over well in the 1950s, but isn't as attractive today; and ironically, he played a poor drunk (type casting from the Rat Pack days?). John Lund as the fiancée????? Stick with the original "The Philadelphia Story", or watch this one as a comparison. Frankly, about the only reason this film was made was Bing's whim and Grace Kelly's rising star (in terms of the latter, thankfully it was the last film with her that we had to suffer through).

Darius Azadeh OK. It's boxing day, and for some obscure reason Channel 5 (HD) is on. After sitting through a terrible Big Brother commercial and preparing to quickly change the channel, the old time MGM logo appears. "Ok, this could go somewhere". I've gotta say, this was a fun movie. I'm not usually one for musicals, but boy this had a lot going for it. I mean, it's fun in the sense that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Everything is shown in such vibrancy and enjoyment that its hard not to keep watching. I don't know if this happened a lot in mid-50's movies, but seeing an Armstrong/Crosby/Sinatra combo in one movie was cool. Grace Kelly and all those guys in moustaches were really good too. Their performances were great comedically and portrayed the narrative very well. I'd say they were good emotionally, but this movie is so light-hearted it would suffer from being emotionally deep in any way. The introduction of Sinatra and Holm's characters was a standout point for me, because it just lifted happiness levels even more. They're addition to the mix of music and laughs (and husbands) was brilliant, because they were all involved in a charming way. They're musical number was a treat, one that I would usually be disinterested in. It's not amazing, but it's good for what it is. There were a lot of things that could have been done better, like mild continuity and plot issues, but it wouldn't have been made that much better. There are a number of pretty funny moments, too, especially from Louis Calhern's character. They're not like 'Spit out your milk' funny, but 'chucklable'. A classic and fun 50's romp, that's fit for family viewing and extended air travel. It's made me want to watch 'Oklahoma!' all over again.

Chris Mizerak In 1940, a film called "The Philadelphia Story", starring Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn, was released to critical and financial success. It also received six Academy Award nominations, and won two for its screenplay and James Stewart's performance. Sixteen years later, a musical remake to this film titled "High Society" was made, this time starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly. Before I delve into my thoughts on "High Society", I'd like to briefly share my opinion on remakes in general. Unless they are based on a film that was bad and/or improve upon the flaws of their predecessor, I find remakes completely unnecessary and lazy especially when it's a good film that's being remade. So although it is a remake of a well-made comedy, "High Society" works reasonably well for what it is which is light, amusing musical entertainment. A jazz musician by the name of C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby) has recently been divorced from wealthy socialite Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly, in her final film role before officially becoming Princess Grace of Monaco). Despite this circumstance along with her recent engagement to snooty gentleman George Kittredge (John Lund), Dexter is still in love with her and determined to win her back. Things become further complicated when a magazine sends reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) to cover the wedding in exchange of disregarding humiliating information about the family. Though Mike is very reluctant to be there, he does become attracted to Tracy as well. Now, Tracy must choose between Dexter, Mike, and George before the big day arrives. If I could come up with only one reason why you should see this film regardless if you possibly don't care for either musicals or remakes, it would be for the cast. I don't recall another film in history that has brought together Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly all in one film. Kelly ends her impressive acting career here with arguably the only comedic role she's played. One could say she's mostly imitating Katherine Hepburn here and that some of her previous roles (notably Frances Stevens in "To Catch a Thief") technically had even more underlying humor present. She still has fun with this role and has not lost any of the charm or beauty that made people like me love her in the first place. Crosby and Sinatra also bring their usual charm and star power to their roles, most notably in the film's best musical number "Well, Did You Evah". I liked the chemistry between Kelly and Sinatra, and how he has to take time to warm up to her ways. Even though Crosby and Sinatra are both competing for Kelly's affection, I didn't mind that they were still friendly towards one another. If it wasn't for the star power of Kelly, Sinatra or Crosby, I would have forgotten that there were even actors in this film since the characters themselves are pretty underdeveloped, especially George. George is the type of character that was only created for the convenience of the plot and nothing more. He is an exceptionally poor antagonist to the story because he has no personality to him and he doesn't seem to enjoy being there. I've already implied that "Well, Did You Evah" was the musical highlight of the film, but how do the other songs written by Cole Porter hold up in my mind? I'd say that with the exception of one or two forgettable tunes, the others range from solid to catchy. "High Society" (the opening tune sung by Louis Armstrong and his band), "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", and "You're Sensational" come to mind when naming other well written songs. If you're a hardcore fan of Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and the musical film genre in general, I think you'll find "High Society" to be fine, fluffy evening entertainment.