5/5 Gene Kelly classic
  by Alan Rogers
This film is a relatively neglected example of one of the MGM classic musicals. Michael Kidd and Gene Kelly both worked on the choreography, and although the story is a little bit weak, the singing and dancing is excellent. Watch out for the dance with the dustbin lids!

5/5 Underrated classic
  by A. barros (vienna, austria)
A great musical and very contemporary specially for that genre of film. Great dance numbers and a bitter story, not so conventional for musicals. The last big musical closing a golden era.

3/5 Nice Finish, Good Dance Numbers Help Film
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
I just had my first look at this on DVD with it boasting a restored print and in widescreen CinemaScope. I had only seen this one other time, years ago on a formatted-to-TV VHS print. The visuals are much better, of course, in widescreen and even the story seemed better.

To be honest, though, I only recommend it for fans of of the classic film era, or for classic-era musicals. If you are used to modern-day films, this will look and sound way too corny for you.

Some other good and bad things- Cyd Charisse is a "wow" in any era. I just wish I could have seen her, and watch her dance, in any other decade. The 1950s, with the short hair and long dresses, have to be the most un-sexy era for women's clothes since pre-1920. I would love to see what Cyd looked like with long hair and a short skirt and demonstrating her tremendous dancing talents.

I enjoyed the lyrics to the songs, even though they were so dated I winced a few times. Sometimes they were so bad, that's what made them fun to hear. Feminists would hate those, and a lot of this movie, although Charisse's character, "Jackie Leighton," is an independent woman and before her time, in that regard. Gene Kelly as "Ted Riley" is such an old-fashioned male chauvinist that in today's world women would cringe at some of this lines and actions in this movie.

The dancing is very good, highlighted by Kelly's roller skating/tap dancing over the streets and sidewalks. That routine ranks right with his more-famous "Singin' In the Rain" number.

Finally, the story the last 20 minutes or so redeems much of the earlier (see below) darker stuff, and you makes you feel good when the film ends. It's a nice message.

Earlier, the story was a downer in too many spots for a musical....until the upbeat finish. Three guys have an old Army buddies' reunion and quickly - too quickly - find out they now despise each other. None of the three are shown with many positive character traits although at least they all know their weaknesses. The dialog, in many spots, might have been the worst part of the film: totally sappy and embarrassingly dated in many areas. I was disappointed Charisse's dancing scene was just that - singular, one less-than-two-minute dance number. That was all they could include in the film? Meanwhile, Daily's loudmouth drunk scene and musical number was five minutes. I was sorry to see the guys dancing with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths, but that's the '50s. That habit, along with drinking, were often glamorized.

Overall, the last segment is so positive, so feel-good that it redeemed the film, at least to me. And - the dance numbers were definitely worth watching. If you like musicals and you haven't seen this, check it out!

4/5 uneven but worth seeing
  by Patricia R. Andersen (Baltimore, MD USA)
Allegedly, this was supposed to be a sort of sequel to "On The Town" but Frank Sinatra didn't want to do it. Plus Jules Mushin isn't in it, either, and it's 3 Army guys, not sailors.
The story is a downer. Three Army buddies promise to meet in10 years, October 11, 1955 to show Tim (the bartender) that they would always be buddies. Gene Kelly, who intends to go to law school and become a politician, gets dumped by (presumably) his girlfriend and decides to make his living as a gambler. Michael Kidd intends to open a fancy restaurant but ends up running a diner. Dan Dailey plans to go to Paris and become a painter, but ends up in the advertising business. Everyone's dreams have been shattered.
When they meet at Tim's, they find no connection. Apparently they never kept track of each other during the 10 years (with questions about marriage and kids, that seems pretty obvious) and they can't stand each other. Of course, fate intervenes but it still takes a long time for this movie to go from a total downer to at least enjoyable.
But let's face it, what does it matter what the plot is if you have Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. It's about the dancing. Gene Kelly does a great number in roller skates. For somebody like me who can't even stand on roller skates, it's a delight to watch. Cyd Charisse does one number, with a group at the gym, but there is no pairing of Charisse and Kelly dancing. That's a shame because I would have like to have seen it.
I would like to give a shout out to Delores Gray for her fabulous "Midnight with Madeline" character. Her dance number "Thanks, But No Thanks" seems derivative of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" but it still great.
I'd recommend it to anyone who has already seen a few Gene Kelly movies and can appreciate the dance numbers. If you are unfamiliar with Mr Kelly's or M's Charisse's work, I suggest these movies to start with:
Singin' in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Brigadoon


Mr Kelly's work:
On the Town
An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Les Girls

M's Charisse's work:
Black Tights (1960)
The Band Wagon (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Till The Clouds Roll By

4/5 "It's my invention - exploding in my face!"
  by classicmoviefan (USA)
It's Always Fair Weather was one of MGM's last musicals and re-teamed Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly (they had already appeared in Brigadoon together and part of Singin' In the Rain). This is not your typical MGM musical.

The point of the story is three WWII friends, upon returning from the war, promise to meet again in ten years at the same place. Ten years pass and they all show up, but realize they have all changed and have nothing in common. On of the men (Dan Dailey) works for a TV show and Gene Kelly ends up falling in love with his beautiful co-worker Jackie (Cyd Charisse). The three friends, after helping each other out (and fighting) throughout the day, restore their friendship and go their own ways.
The highlight of the film (for me at least) is probably Cyd Charisse's "Baby, You Knock Me Out" dance with a bunch of boxers. You also won't want to miss Gene Kelly's "I Like Myself" tap dance on rollerskates.

This DVD does have some great special features and some deleted numbers. There is one deleted song and dance that Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse do together.