I’m going to bet that many of y’all have stopped tuning in to the nonstop coverage of the thing in the White House and are trying to keep your sanity by watching lighthearted movies. I know I have. And I cry, boy do I cry over the silliest of comedies. But sometimes I have a revelation and today’s is from the musical Gigi. In case you’ve never heard of Gigi (where have you been?), it’s a story set in the early 1900s which was written by Colette. Supposedly it’s her least grim work.
Doesn’t look very cheerful, does she?
To be honest, I haven’t read all the works of Colette but apparently she specialized in heroines whose chances for happiness were zero to nil. So it’s beyond ironic that her name will be forever linked to a movie with such a charming happy ending.
Although, was it really a happy ending? Gaston could have easily turned into a serial philanderer like his impossibly cute uncle.
Or, he could have evolved into a self-centered man growing angrier by the year and taking it out on her. He was after, bored with everything.
Gigi might have been better off pursuing her aunt’s successful career as a courtesan. Today courtesans are thought of as high class prostitutes however the word actually means “one who attends court with a powerful person.” So having a courtesan was a sign of status. It’s impossible to know how much free will those courtesans had. Gigi (the movie) implies that they could pick and choose between “patrons” but realistically they were probably sold by their families to the highest bidder.
Groomed and taught the social graces and then sold. Bejeweled and pranced out to make an impression. And then discarded when old.
It is a mistake, of course, to cast seeds of doubt at happy endings. These days of Muslim bans, children ripped from their mothers, and civil discontent, they’re all we have left. As Gaston says, the world is round but everything is getting flatter by the minute.
*Apologies if I’ve ruined the ending of the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Saying nothing in particular 
“Happily ever after” always came with a little doubt but it’s still nice to think that it happened.
I agree – I generally don’t think beyond the happy endings but I just heard about the muslim ban and all the happy good-feelings went down the hill!
Hi. I haven’t seen Gigi in ages. One thing for sure is that it has a lot of wonderful songs. It was Lerner and Loewe’s next project after My Fair Lady.
Bye for now, JT.
Neil S.
I hadn’t either – my favorite is “I’m so glad that I’m not young anymore…” because now I can sing along with feeling!
Thanks for this marvelous post, Jan. Maybe it’s shallow of me, but I never watch or read anything that makes me cry. These days I take it a step further — it has to have at least some “feel good” element. But that’s what I need. Here’s to happy endings. Hugs!
You’re so sweet! I think we all need feel good elements these days. Hugs back atcha!
Reblogged this on glynhockey.
I would happily watch a zombie movie than the guy with orange skin and thatched roof!
Me too. If I tune on the telly and see his ugly mug, I quickly turn the channel. Thanks for the reblog!
I love happy endings. I NEED happy endings … isn’t that what entertainment is for? To entertain? To give us hope that happy endings are possible?
I’ve never seen Gigi. Maybe I should … but if it’s going to make me cry, maybe not … that’s what the 6 pm news is for 😕
Gigi is wonderful and I promise you won’t cry. It turns out that Gigi was based on the real life story of a courtesan in training who married the mayor of a large French town. I guess it must have inspired Colette.