#100 - Yankee Doodle Dandy

Yankee Doodle Dandy, made in 1942 and staring James Cagney, was surprising to see on the list, it not being the best musical I've seen. Based off of the life of the famous patriotic play-write and composer George M. Cohan, this movie is acted with feeling and dripping with song and dance numbers (some great, and some... well, let's just say I resisted the fast forward button with difficulty.)

In the very first scene you are introduced to Mr. Cohan and his wife, who are in their late 70's. My immediate reaction is that they are young people wearing semi-convincing stage make up. This implicated that the movie was going to be one long flash back... and it was. As an audience you follow the life of George M. Cohan, a vaudeville baby who was a part of his family's 4 person acting troupe since before he could walk. As much as he loved the theater, that love paled in comparison to his love for America.

I myself am a particularly patriotic person (that's right, I tear up when I hear the National anthem), so I really enjoyed the patriotic numbers, but, at one point, even I began to get a little uncomfortable. No wonder his songs are still sung at every patriotic event today; He loved his country more than his own mother!

Though some of the acting techniques would be more appropriate for stage then film, and the dance sequences ran longer than my attention span, overall it is a funny, touching movie. The singing was nice, not spectacular, but very inviting to sing along to. Though I liked the film, and the ending nearly moved me to tears of joy, I still am not sure if it was good enough to make the top 100. Maybe if it had been shorter then 2 hours, or just had had less musical numbers (I suspect the fault lies with the editor...) then I would have been more impressed.

Editing possibilities aside, if you're in a nostalgic or patriotic mood, I would definitely recommend it to you. Great or no, its conclusion does move me one closer to my goal, which is worth celebrating!