Thoroughly Modern Millie

Everything today is thoroughly modern...

Minor spoilers

The year is 1922. The Jazz Age is in full swing, women have the vote, flappers have come into their own, and the "Noble Experiment" of Prohibition is in effect. All the world looks to the United States, and the United States looks to New York City.

Into this milieu comes Millie Dillmount (Julie Andrews), a sweet old-fashioned girl from the sticks who is determined to shed her country girl ways and become "thoroughly modern." She bobs her hair, buys a fashionable wardrobe, moves into a ladies' boarding house and gets a job with Trevor Graydon (John Gavin), the most handsome boss in the city. Millie is determined to marry Graydon despite a quiet crush on Jimmy (James Fox), the boyish paper-clip salesman she meets on her first day in New York. Everything in Millie's life seems ideal—her roommate Miss Dorothy (Mary Tyler Moore), her "terrif" boss, her "Jazz baby" dilettante friend Muzzy (Carol Channing)—but trouble is brewing. There's an underground white slave ring that kidnaps single girls and ships them off to "a fate worse than death" in the Far East, and Miss Dorothy may be the next victim. Do Millie and her friends have the clues and the guts to bring the villains to justice?

Thoroughly Modern Millie gave movie-goers a chance to see Julie Andrews in a role other than the Perfect Governess—her reputation had already been set by such hits as Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music—but the role exudes a similar kind of sweet innocence, despite Millie's amusing attempts to act worldly and sexy. It's an attitude that fits in perfectly with the rest of the ensemble, though. James Fox as Jimmy has a "gee-whiz" quality, Mary Tyler Moore as Miss Dorothy exudes ethereal femininity (making her single outburst of "Bitch!" all the more hilarious), and Carol Channing as Muzzy... well... once again proves that she can't sing, but manages to ham up the role sufficiently that you can forgive her that sin. This is no hard-boiled look at the Jazz Age, but a harmless, fluffy confection of a movie. Even the Bad Guys are bumbling rather than menacing.

The music, from the title song to the end credits, is hummable and toe-tapping, and the dance numbers are perfectly incorporated. The cinematography, too, is a treat—particularly if you're a silent movie aficionado. Millie's mental asides to the camera are presented as a series of dialogue card inserts, and liberal tribute is paid to the Keystone Kops and other silent stars.

The only possible down side to this movie is the white slavery sub-plot. While it's clear that our heroes will triumph in the end, the racial stereotypes presented might possibly be considered offensive to those of Asian descent. Otherwise, it's a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend to Julie Andrews fans and anyone who wants a fun, escapist musical experience.

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