University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Musical Memory Confection

By BARRY LEVINE

Twiggy's back—in Ken
Russell's "The Boy Friend," a
musical confection that spoofs
the old Busby Berkeley movies
of the '30's.

The pixie model who helped
give clothes hangers a good
name plays a young
understudy who all but muffs
her BIG CHANCE when the
star of a musical called "The
Boy Friend" suffers a foot
injury. The show must go on
and all that, particularly since
a BIG movie director from
HOLLYWOOD is in the
audience.

The movie's raison d'etre is
also its real weakness. A
caricature of a caricature — a
spoof on the musical
extravaganzas, which distorted
rather world — often retains
the form but lacks the
substance.

The film takes place almost
entirely on stage, or in various
extravaganza visions of the
fame-hungry producer or the
fame making director Twiggy,
as the understudy, falls in love
with her wavy-haired leading
man, (Christopher Gable), and
he eventually gets the cue.

"Boy Friend" is a nice
salute to another era, an
entertaining extravaganza, but
it is somehow lost behind the
various filters of perspective.

However, while Twiggy may
be flat— both physically and
dramatically— she isn't dull.
She conveys a certain Cockney
charm, even when we must see
her behind the glitter

Russell's direction takes off
in a few interesting tangents of
imagination. It has the
sweet taste of a Broadway
musical, complete with plenty
of eye-catching tap-dancing
and toe-tapping songs.
Guaranteed to melt in your
memory.

Boop-boop-be-doo.