Yankee Doodle Candy (No. 98: Yankee Doodle Dandy)

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" is the story of George M. Cohan, a celebrated playwright, composer, producer, actor/singer/dancer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cohan penned the well-known American patriotic tunes "You're A Grand Old Flag" and, of course, "The Yankee Doodle Boy." He was hugely instrumental in the worlds of music, theater, and was the first entertainer to receive a Congressional Gold Medal from the president. So, while it is fitting that this man's story be told through a musical film, I have to admit, it did not always hold my attention. The story is told, theoretically, from Cohan's (James Cagney) perspective as he talks to President FDR, about how he got started with his parents and continued a lifetime in vaudeville, Broadway, and show business. He starts out as a cocky, downright obnoxious kid who gets himself blacklisted from the theater world. Then, suddenly, he turns into a decent guy who learns how to have a career without trying to be the center of the universe. The film shows the change as it does everything else - briefly, and without much exploration. The film covers a lot of ground in two hours, from the boy's birth to nearly the end of his life, fraught with musical numbers and rapid-fire dialogue the entire way. In truth, it's more a celebration of Cohan's talents than his life, as it spends far more time showcasing as many songs as it can from his repertoire of some 500 numbers than delving too deeply into the man himself. You get glimpses of his love and loyalty to his family, his need to be on stage, his quirky sense of humor, but only in between curtain calls. Maybe that also is fitting – a man as dedicated to the stage as Cohan probably only lived life in the margins, second billing, in between shows. If you like musicals, vaudeville, Broadway, or even just old Hollywood, this film will entertain you. It doesn't have any one piece that stands out, but it has a little bit of everything - some singing, some dancing, some humor, some drama, and even a few poignant comments about patriotism and family that are just as relevant now as they were during World War II.