There's something autobiographical about The Band Wagon, in which Fred Astaire is painted as a has-been tapping around in old-fashioned entertainments and being told he needs to reinvent himself. Was he feeling this in 1953 at the age of 54? If so, this flighty musical is a statement. It denies the need for reinvention and affirms the relevance of the kind of song and dance shows he does best. In the story, he is roped into doing a Broadway show with a maverick director who proceeds to change everything so it will become an "important" work, a premise that provides a lot of funny comedy, especially if you know theater people. We're told the original script of the show had "just enough plot" to hang musical numbers on, and folks, that's exactly how The Band Wagon works. At times, it feels like a collection of musical numbers the production wanted to do, plot be damned, but see, it gave itself permission to do that, so you can't get too frustrated. It's all worth it anyway for that expressionistic musical film noir number (the one that inspired Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal video), which is incredible. And look, Cyd Charisse is in this and I'm not made of wood. I don't think there's a more precise and beautiful dancer in all of cinema.

The last musical number is a must-see for noir fans.

Surprisingly enjoyable. I do like musicals but I didn't expect this one to be as good as it was.