This is a classic movie musical that I discovered many years ago. And since the first time I watched this movie involves my late father, it takes on even more interesting dimensions. Some years back, I watched this movie for the first time with my girlfriend Stephanie. I was still living with my parents at the time, so Stephanie and I sat on my bedroom floor, put "My Fair Lady" on, and sat and watched. As the movie progresses, Henry Higgins' heart begins to soften toward the rough around the edges Eliza Doolittle. During one of the moments in which this was becoming clear, my dad told me that he walked by my room. As he watched his grown son sitting next to his girlfriend, he thought it slightly funny and appropriate that we were watching a movie together about a man who was letting someone in to his solitary world. He couldn't help but find it appropriate, and also a little poignant. Up to that point, I had never had a girlfriend, had been independent and happy, until this new person came into my life and changed everything. Dad loved Stephanie and always thought she was perfect for me. I can't see this movie without thinking of that first time I watched it with my girlfriend Steph.
The film is full of memorable tunes as well as biting and cynical humor. Linguist Henry Higgins is a confirmed bachelor, and he sees any involvement with women as utterly repugnant. At a performance one night in Covent Garden, he happens upon fellow linguist Colonel Pickering, and they discover street urchin Eliza Doolittle. Higgins wagers Pickering that within a matter of weeks, he could transform this street urchin into a refined lady, one who he could even pass off as a high society lady at a ball. As Pickering takes the bet, Higgins is forced to prove himself. All the while, Eliza's freeloading and oafish (but all the while clever) father Alfie finds ways to take advantage of Higgins' wealth.
The film gives us many unique moments. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the film is the style Rex Harrison used to "sing" his numbers. If there were some sort of category for turn of century British rap, Harrison's performance may fit that category. His "singing" is unique, and it bolsters his characters' curmudgeonly nature. Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle is not her greatest role, but she makes her character sympathetic and lovable. Above it all hovers the wonderful melodies of this musical. "The Street Where You Live" somehow manages to be an extremely evocative piece of music, even though the song has an absurd premise. Other wonderful melodies and witty barbs follow throughout the film. But, in the end, the admittance by Higgins that he has "Grown Accustomed to Her (Eliza's) Face" is the heart of the movie. Men do love companionship, no matter what they say.
So as I reflect anew on my first viewing of this classic, I am brought again back to my dad and one of the many good memories of him. After more than 13 years of marriage to Steph, I have more than merely grown accustomed to her. Instead, I love every moment I have with her. And even though I never got a chance to ask dad this for sure, I have a feeling that when he glimpsed Steph and I watching this movie together, he knew that I had found someone perfect for me. I had moved on from being independent into a different realm.
