Kate's Film Club: Sweet Charity
by Kate Pop Culture Valentine's Day
This Valentine's Day season, our resident film buff 💪Kate Corcoran is exploring rom-coms of the past. There will be meet-cutes, there will be pratfalls, and of course... outfits!
Shirley MacLaine in Sweet Charity // Getty
Sweet Charity, 1969
Bob Fosse
Streaming on:Â Apple TV
Sweet Charity is Bob Fosse’s directorial debut and…I’m not gonna lie; it shows a lil' bit.
It’s not a bad movie! I’m just saying we should be extra thankful that he was given another chance.
Sweet Charity is a very 60s musical starring my new fav leading lady, Shirley MacLaine, as Charity Hope Valentine. Charity works as a taxi dancer at a dance hall in New York City. For anyone under the age of 80, a taxi dancer is basically a dancing partner you pay for. Men come to the dance hall and buy dance tickets; one ticket = one dance. It’s not sex work per se, but there’s something a little naughty about it.
"The first man is a creep, the second is way too cool, and the third is a total square."
Charity is surrounded by fabulous coworkers/friends, and a never ending cast of interesting male characters. Did I mention that Charity is on the hunt for love? She’s strangely naive and optimistic when it comes to finding a partner. Maybe it’s not strange, but I imagine someone with a job like hers would be more jaded in that department… And Charity truly isn’t! We see three different men come into her life throughout the film. As the viewer, it’s obvious that these will not last. The first man is a creep, the second is way too cool, and the third is a total square.
The movie mostly meanders for 153 minutes while spending some time on these love interests whilst plopping in long musical numbers. Within the first 30 minutes, we get my two favorite scenes. The taxi dancers perform “Big Spender,” a truly enthralling four and a half minutes.
"Think micro mini dresses, blunt haircuts, huge gaudy jewelry, and angular choreography."
When Charity meets man #2, he takes her to the Pompeii Club, where we get the ultimate '60s mod scene. Not to mention, the set of my wildest dreams. Think micro mini dresses, blunt haircuts, huge gaudy jewelry, and angular choreography. As a non-dancer, that’s the best way I can describe how the dancers move – angular. It’s AMAZING and makes the entire movie worth watching.
As the film goes on…and on, it loses steam. I had a hard time understanding the tone as it really covers multiple genres. There are a few dance numbers that, if I were the editor, I would eliminate completely – sorry, Sammy Davis Jr.! Not even his number saves the last half of this wandering film.
These criticisms aside, we must pay our respects to the first of Fosse’s films because he definitely figured it out after this one!
The costumes, sets, and hair themselves all earn honorable mentions:
-I always love scenes that take place in women's dressing rooms.
-Gorgeous cinematography for “Big Spender.”
-Insane choreography and costumes at the Pompeii Club.
-I appreciate hand dancing.
-I love a party that ODs on balloons and confetti.
Final Rating
I’m rating Sweet Charity 65/100 ex-boyfriend tattoos. ❤️‍🩹
To read all of Kate’s wildly deep and complex reviews, follow @katecorcoran on Letterboxd!Â
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