Three sentence movie reviews: Summer Magic

summer_magic

Apparently Hoopla, Multnomah County Library’s streaming service, has a lot of Haley Mills movies available, so I watched this film, which I had not seen since I was a tween.*  I discovered that Haley Mills, who I adored as a child, was quite good at acting like Haley Mills in that her character in this movie was not ostensibly different than Sharon & Susan in the Parent Trap**  I did appreciate the fact they let the child actors be mediocre singers*** as they sing along with Burl Ives.****

Cost: free from the aforementioend Hoopla
Where watched: at home, while sick

*Not that tweens existed when I was tween-aged.
**I have a feeling that I would not find her character much different in any of her movies, but I don’t have the time to invest in the research.
***There is a song in this movie called “Femininity” which is good fodder for many topics of discussion.  The lyrics follow below.
****That said, I loved Michael J. Pollard as Digby Popham.  He attempted a Maine accent and wasn’t bad in the acting department.

Femininity
You must walk feminine
Talk feminine
Smile and beguile feminine
Utilize your femininity
That’s what every girl should know, if she wants to catch a beau
Dance feminine
Glance feminine
Act shy and sigh feminine
Compliment his masculinity
That’s what every girl should know, if she wants to catch a beau
Let him do the talking
Men adore good listeners
Laugh, but not too loudly (Haha)
If he should choose to tell a joke
Be radiant, but delicate
Memorize the rules of etiquette
Be demure, sweet and pure
Hide the real you
You must look feminine
Dress feminine
You’re at your best feminine
Emphasize your femininity
That’s what every girl should know
Femininity, femininity
That’s the way to catch a beau

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1963/summer_magic.html
This poster does not get across at all what the movie is about.  It suggests a love story for Haley Mills, but that is not the case.  The dress is also not from the movie and that dog did not have a prominent role.

5 thoughts on “Three sentence movie reviews: Summer Magic”

  1. I thought: oh boy HM finally gets to grow up in the Disney world. Apparently that’s a nope. And oh boy the hegemonic patriarchy fumes are strong with that song!

    1. The whole time I was listening I was thinking, “Bullshit gender isn’t primarily a socialization thing!” I watched this. More than once. I probably also sang along. Jesus.

      There is at least one Disney movie where she’s an older teen. I think I’ve seen it.

  2. My personal opinion is that most child actors aren’t that great/don’t have range, but I also wonder if the constraints of making movies for Disney limited what she could do as an actress. Disney definitely had very rigid ideas about how children behave.

    When I mentioned Yul Brynner in a comment yesterday, I looked him up on YouTube to see if I could find some acting clips. I made the mistake of clicking on his performance in “The King and I” (which I’ve never seen before) and hearing the lyrics: “A girl must be like a blossom, with honey for just one man. A man must live like a honey bee and gather all that he can.”

    I immediately turned it off. I feel the same way about those lyrics as I do about the ones above: they make me want to vomit.

    1. You mean you didn’t smile with satisfaction, knowing your true place in the world? 🙂

      I’ve never seen the King and I either! I’ve just checked his credits on IMDB and I can say that I’ve only seen one movie with Mr. Brenner in it. But I enjoyed his performance in that.

      Also, I think he wins the “best place of birth” award: Vladivostok, Primorskaya Oblast, Far Eastern Republic

Leave a Reply to Jan W. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *