George Cukor's 1964 film, My Fair Lady, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 Pygmalion, is a musical that did not spark my attention for the musical aspect of the movie. This movie's plot carries it and makes it exciting far more than the music itself. I am a huge fan of musicals being that I used to take dance and have taken voice lessons and thoroughly enjoy singing.
When I watch a musical, I look for there to be singers among at least some of the cast who take my breath away. These are not necessarily singers with big range or singers that can hit unbelievable notes but singers who have a distinct sound to make me look forward to their performance. While watching My Fair Lady, I found myself dreading the songs. All of the actors and actresses, including Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins, Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle (who had Marni Nixon dub most of her songs), and Wilfred Hyde-White as Colonel Pickering, were mediocre when it came to singing in my opinion. If there had been one exceptional singer, I would have enjoyed the musical element of the movie much more.
During the songs, not only did I notice my disappointment with the singers' ability, but I also had disappointment with the movements of the actors and actresses during the songs. They were so odd at times to a point that it became a nuisance and took away from my enjoyment of the movie. When I say odd, I mean the movements look dull and repetitive. If the singing is not big, then the dancing should be or vise versa.
The movie has a wonderful plot. I was definitely interested in the story line. The cast also kept my attention. The movie just does not stand up against other musicals I have seen. I do not understand why it was ever made into a musical. I believe the words in the songs are supposed to be more important to the movie than the actual singing and dancing. That just does not appeal to me