New York. Maggie, editor of a fashion magazine for women, wants to come up with a new trend, so she sends her photographer Dick to make a few photos of a model in a book store. There, the shop clerk Jo protests due to all the fuss, but to no avail. Later, back in the office, Dick thinks Jo would actually make for a good model, even though Maggie thinks she has a "funny face". Attracted by the prospect of visiting Paris, Jo accepts the job of a model and poses in said city. Dick makes photos of her in a wedding dress. She wants to quit after an argument and joins philosopher Flostre, but when Flostre wants to forcefully kiss her alone in his room, she leaves. Dick meets Jo again in a wedding dress standing in a garden, and the two fall in love.
Even though it was directed by the veteran Stanley Donen ("Singin' in the Rain"), "Funny Face" seems like a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"-style schizophrenic movie wrestling with itself as to if it's a stiff, boring musical or a charming, witty romantic comedy. These two genres clash badly with each other, since no matter how good of a dancer Fred Astaire is, the musical segments rarely appear enagaging. However, the comedy segment has several amusing moments, almost exclusively thanks to the outstanding Audrey Hepburn as the timid bookworm Jo, who carries 90% of the film's quality. The opening act where the the photographer Dick wants to make a photo session of a model in a book store, for a more "intellectual trend" for a fashion magazine, is ravishing—bookstore clerk Jo protests, trying to persuade Maggie to get out, but Dick replies: "One never talks to Maggie Prescott. One only listens." The viewers never for a moment buy that Hepburn could have a "funny face" or be such an "unusual" choice for a model that "defies" the industry standards, yet the "Pygmalion"-concept of a "rough girl" who will be elevated and "polished" into a beautiful woman thanks to a mentor will later be used again in Hepburn's own and more famous film "My Fair Lady". Donen should have had more close-up shots of Hepburn's charismatic face, since she is able to make even some dance moves look great (for instance, while wearing black clothes in a Paris night club), yet even as it is, "Funny Face" is overall a good film, whereas it even has a great little romantic ending involving Jo wearing a wedding dress in a garden from a photo session.
Grade:++
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