Girl Crazy (1932)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

hyped garbage

Disappointment for a huge fan!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

If you would like a laugh, read through the reviews for this film. A couple of them describe the film like it's a masterpiece--calling it 'a hoot' and another guy gives it a 10. And, conversely, one described it as 'total ineptitude' and another 'dreadfully unfunny'!! Did they make two DIFFERENT versions of Wheeler and Woolsey's "Girl Crazy"?! All I know is that I felt the film was at neither extreme--neither a particularly distinguished film nor a bad one. And, that can be said about most Wheeler and Woolsey efforts.Wheeler and Woolsey leave the big city in search of adventure in modern day Arizona. Little do they know that the casino they are going to work in is also located in a lawless town where sheriffs rarely last a day on the job! Can these two boobs manage to survive? This film is a hybrid--originally a musical and now infused with comedy. That isn't a great thing, as much of the music was dropped and the play's original huge hit, "I Got Music", is a very poor rendition--with poor sound quality and a sub-par tune from Kitty Kelly (though I DID like seeing the cacti dancing as she sang). As for the comedy, it's decent but not hilarious. In other words, it has its moments but isn't great in the comedy department either. But, by far, the absolutely worst part of the film was young Mitzi Green's impressions. Painfully bad is the best way to describe them. Overall, a very mixed bag.

Easy. First you remove most of the songs, and then you give one of the most popular comedy teams of the day nothing to work with. All downhill from there. I really don't understand why the producers removed songs and inserted a couple of tuneless ones in their place. The new ones sounded like Gershwin rejects they had stashed in a trunk somewhere. "I Got Rhythm" could have been a show-stopper but it took place in a night club, in one of the most bizarre, surreal musical numbers ever committed to film. I think jaw-dropping is an apt term.In the early 30's, Wheeler and Woolsey were one of the best comedy teams extant. They had made "Hook,Line and Sinker", and "Half Shot At Sunrise", both in 1930. Now, those were funny pictures with good, funny material. "Girl Crazy" was reissued with "Peach-O-Reno" by Warner Archives collection, and there is hardly an unforced laugh in either one. Dreadfully unfunny movies.I could go on and on but why bother. My rating is more a reflection of disappointment than anything else. But The Gershwins and Wheeler and Woolsey deserved better.

Unless you are a Wheeler & Woolsey enthusiast, you'll find this a complete waste of popcorn. Ostensibly a Gershwin musical (and would legitimately be remade as such), it has the numbers grafted onto a proto-screwball comedy. Nearly everything is turned toward setting up the standard jokes of the pair.The one exception is Mitzi Green, the thirteen year old "sister." Her moments are golden. I'd never seen her before. She's not a performer in the mold of Shirley and Judy who charm you with their portrayals. You get the impression that this really is how she is, basically. She does some impressions that lack power today because the targets are mostly forgotten. But she does a dance with two others and continuously gets bumped off. If you've ever done any serious dancing you'll know that what she does is much harder than it seems. This girl shines; wonder whatever happened?Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Mr. Oliver summed up "Girl Crazy" very well. I found a collecter's copy of this, mostly to catch Mitzi Green's performance. Mitzi, born in 1920, worked in fifteen films before she was thirteen. Mitzi, at least in this film, was completely different than anything before or after her. Not the sweet, loving little girl... not Mitzi. Here she's a 12 year old flapper, with just the right amount of brattyness to be sweet, smarter than anyone else, and with a talent for "imitations" of the popular singers of the epoch. She had only one short tap dance number that didn't really show her talent. And I'll bet her colleagues loved working with her... for once a child actress who isn't a scene stealer!Much to my surprise, I found this practically forgotten film has a score and lyrics by the Gershwin brothers, and one of the funniest casts ever, none of whom I'd ever heard of. I generally avoid comedies like the plague, mostly because the modern ones don't seem to be very funny, but this comedy is fast, non-stop, and really funny, right down to the uncredited walk-ons. The scenes & jokes are clever, instead of stupid.... multi-faceted jokes and intelligent slapstick that never lags. The speed and cleverness of it reminds me of the first few minutes of "Romancing the Stone". Only a few of Mitzi's films are available on video in the classics collectors' market. Her screen time is limited to about 15-20 minutes but, as always, she's worth watching and remembering. The combination of Wheeler & Woolsey, the Gershwin bros. and Mitzi Green make this a film well worth seeing.