I knew very little about this musical going into watching it, and was surprised that it doesn't have a driving plot, but is more of a character piece because it mostly delves into the lives of the Smith family in St. Louis. In many ways the story reminded me of "Little Women", except "Meet Me in St. Louis" is lighter and frothier.
The star, Judy Garland, is magical in this film of course. She does sweet and wholesome so well, and she gets the bulk of the singing in the film and of course nails it. I was only familiar with the Trolley Song from the musical before watching this, and I may be partial here, but I think it is the best song in the film. But perhaps the most fun was the Under the Bamboo Tree song and dance that Judy does with her little sister, as played by Margaret O'Brien. Who is too adorable in this movie and she is so believable as an actress. She was so good in that scene when she completes a dare on Halloween!
The romance and the family love was the heart of the story, and while I did enjoy the film as a whole, I probably wouldn't be eager to watch it again any time soon. It's a nice Hollywood look at turn of the century American culture, and the performances and singing are wonderful. There's a great message about love and family in the film as well. I can see this being a great holiday movie to watch too because there are Christmas scenes, and Judy Garland does a wonderful rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". This is a very sweet film, and I can understand why it made the top 25 list.
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