Tea for Two (1950)

Overrated

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Doris great singer. Good dancer. Loved her tap dance. In finale, Patrice Wymore got the most athletic dance part. This could be because in Doris' earlier life she was in a car accident after being trained in dance. In this movie, it looks like Doris has recovered enough to do some widely moved and slower paced dance steps, except I winced when she jumped over some big objects in the finale dancing opposite Gene Nelson.Movie too long, I felt, and drags in places, and that is my reason for giving it a nine. Otherwise, it is excellent. Gordon MacRae is just divine. All the character actors did a good job. Billy De Wolfe always comedic spot-on. Same for Eve Arden. SZ Sakall great as the wealthy uncle.I just love dance movies. You know this when you read my other reviews.

Tea for Two (David Butler, 1950) - I like Doris Day, but her cheery singing and cartoonish sensibility can't save this average musical, which is hamstrung by excessive comic relief, an unsuitable setting (the onset of the Great Depression - what an amusing scenario) and characters it's very difficult to root for. The set-up is this: Day dreams of being a Broadway star, and will get her big break if she can win a bet with uncle S.Z. Sakall to say "no" to every question she's asked for 36 hours. Not only do the writers fail to mine this promising premise to convincing dramatic ends, but they hardly wring any laughs out of it either. It's left instead for Billy "Oh no, not Billy De Wolfe" De Wolfe to provide the comic relief, which is not a situation I would like to revisit any time soon.The lack of thought that went into the script is epitomised by the staggeringly artless way a gaggle of fun late-'20s songs are crowbarred into the narrative. Still, the film is lit by that good score, much of it performed by frequent co-stars Day and Gordon McRae, and some impressive hoofing from Gene Nelson - with his staircase dance the obvious high spot. Terence Davies' favourite character actress, Eve Arden, snipes agreeably in support. Tea for Two is based on the stage musical No, No, Nanette (filmed in 1930 and 1940), which is the show-within-a-film here.

There are several reasons why anyone would go and see this; 1) They're a Doris Day buff, 2) they're into Broadway Musicals transposed to film or 3) they like 'real' songs, the kind with catchy and/or soaring melodies and literate lyrics. If we need a fourth selling point how about some classic 'supporting' actors not least Eve Arden, but not forgetting Billy DeWolfe and S.Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall. The plot, such as it is turns out to be a thin re-working of the Broadway hit No, No, Nanette, so thin in fact that they could have given a writing credit to Nick Charles. It's kicked off by one of the most unrealistic 'flashbacks' in movie history - which is saying something - when Zackall, coming upon the children of Day and MCrae wearing their parents old clothes and performing the Charlston (a ploy, incidentally, lifted straight from Coward's Bittersweet) proceeds to tell them how it really was back in 1929. The flashback opens with himself, learning via ticker-tape that the money he invested on behalf of his niece, Nanette (Day) is worthless, then switching to Day rehearsing song and dance with Gene Nelson and Gordon McCrae, something of which Zackall could have no direct knowledge, and then blithely following them separately and/or in groups. Of course in 1950 no one cared about sloppiness like this even in drama let alone a musical so best ignore it and revel in the score which, though uneven/unbalanced culled as it is from several sources, remains a fine example of great songwriting.

Doris Day (I mean the character she portrays) is trying to win over her uncle to sponsor a new Broadway show in which she is going to star. Needless to say that her uncle is less than happy about the prospect: he is sure that the show is going to be a failure and he is going to loose all his money. Doris bets him that she can reply "no" to every single one question she is asked within a 24 hour time frame. If she wins, he will have to give her the money she needs. Of course, this bet is followed by a series of funny situations. Some are brilliant, some are silly but still there is a lot to laugh at in this film. For example, when Doris is asked by a police officer "Do you know your name?", she says with dignity "No". Sure, it is not a masterpiece but some will find it very amusing. If there is no better prospect than spending a lonely evening at home, why not to watch Tea For Two. S z Sakall is very funny as uncle Max, Eve Arden who plays the secretary is very good, she's got the best lines in the film and says them in the way which Goldie Hawn would be proud of. Why did not she get the Best Supporting Actress Oscar?