Objectively speaking, it's hard to argue with those who believe that 'That's Entertainment! (1974)' towers over its sequel. Indeed, the first film naturally had all the classics to choose from, and so director Jack Haley Jr. was able to throw all the very best bits into his film. When Gene Kelly arrived on the scene to direct 'That's Entertainment, Part II (1976),' he found no shortage of interesting clips in the MGM archives, but occasionally had to settle for the secondary musical numbers from the most famous musicals, for example, having to settle with "Good Morning" instead of "Singin' in the Rain." Nevertheless, I think I enjoyed the sequel even more than the original, not because of the nostalgic clipshow, but because of the interludes in between. Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, performing together for the first (and only) time since 'Ziegfeld Follies (1946),' light up the screen with their lighthearted theatrics, proving at ages 64 and 77, respectively that time has done little to dim their talent for entertainment.
For all its nostalgic spectacle, 'That's Entertainment!' had still been a rather impersonal affair. Plenty of faded stars appeared on screen to briefly recount their experiences, but their monologues were obviously tightly scripted and lacked the intimacy and insight that they might have had. By 1976, Gene Kelly was already an experienced director (most notably in his collaborations with Stanley Donen) and so he decided to dress up his newly-shot interludes, sacrificing wistful recollection for just one more opportunity to see two of cinema's greatest sharing the stage, all to the tune of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's "That's Entertainment!" {from the film 'The Band Wagon (1953)'}. Both stars, incredibly, dart across the stage with all of their usual exuberance, and, in his final filmed performance, Fred Astaire apparently still retains the liveliness of a man two decades his junior. Kelly also breaks up the film with a brief vignette on location in Paris, where MGM Oscar-winning blockbusters 'An American in Paris (1951)' and 'Gigi (1958)' were set.
The most exciting element of the 'That's Entertainment!' series, I think, is that not only can we relive all those precious classic moments, but we can also learn of the more obscure musicals about which we would otherwise have known nothing. For my part, the film added 'The Band Wagon' and 'Easter Parade (1948)' to my must-see list {yes, I am still a novice!}, and piqued my interest in many others. One hilarious sequence from 'Small Town Girl (1953),' frequently disparaged by reviewers, sees Bobby Van bounding across town like a kangaroo/pogo stick hybrid where did that man get so much energy? All in all, I found 'That's Entertainment, Part II' to be a supreme piece of musical entertainment, mostly due to the newly-shot footage featuring Kelly and Astaire
I know I'll be humming the title song all weekend. I'm now interested in watching Part III, if only to find out how Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan, with a dwindling selection of numbers, managed to keep the series fresh.
