166: Meet Me in St. Louis

US  113m  Dir: Vincente Minnelli  Key Cast: Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien

Based On: Meet Me in St. Louis by Sally Benson (Novel)

Some would argue that Meet Me in St. Louis is a cynical, subversive meditation on family values. It's an interesting thought but not one I can subscribe too. There's no such sophistication here in my book, this is a simple celebration of family values which gently points out a few issues and then casually resets the status quo. 

Some would also argue that the film is a Christmas film just because there is a section set around Christmas and the song 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' debuted here but that doesn't make sense to me given that the events of the film take place over a whole year in a series of seasonal vignettes. 

The film follows the upper-class Smith family. Eldest daughter Rose (Lucille Bremer) hopes to receive a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, second-eldest Esther (Judy Garland) is in love with the boy next door John Truett (Tom Drake) and youngest daughter 'Tootie' (Margaret O'Brien) gets into all sorts of mischief, such as making snowmen in the road to make drivers think they've run someone over. 

It all felt a bit wishy-washy to me. There's very little actual drama here. The two elder daughters spend the whole time fawning over the men in their lives and inevitably end up with them. There's a moment when the family might have to leave St. Louis and move to New York but that doesn't actually end up happening. There's very little depth to anything, it's a simple and surface-level story of one family over the course of the year. 

Even the songs feel pretty wishy-washy. This is technically a musical but there aren't masses of songs so there are long periods without singing. Most of the songs are pretty uninspiring even if several have become popular American standards. 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' is well known though I think that's more because of Frank Sinatra's rendition and even that is a pretty wishy-washy, unflamboyant song. 

The cast were pretty underwhelming here too. Judy Garland is billed as the star but she is really one of an ensemble and doesn't do anything that especially stands out for me. She was going through a tough time while making the film, suffering severe emotional problems and becoming addicted to amphetamines. There's something a bit lacklustre about her performance here that perhaps comes from how she was feeling behind the scenes. It's actually Margaret O'Brien who is the highlight as young Tootie, getting the biggest emotional moment of the film and delivering it brilliantly at such a young age. 

Personally, I just felt this was the most middle of the road film I've ever seen. I can't really find much to say is bad about it but equally nothing got me especially interested or engaged. It also feels really dated in a way other 40s films just don't. Not for me at all.