Funny Face, film review: Triumph of form over content

(U) Stanley Donen, 103 mins Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson

Stanley Donen's 1957 musical represents a triumph of form over content.

Its script is flimsy and whimsical in the extreme – a yarn about a shy American bookseller (Audrey Hepburn) with a funny face turned into a supermodel in Paris.

What is startling here is the eye-popping colour, the self-reflexive photography and visual effects, the dance sequences (Fred Astaire with his umbrella), and the witty and ingenious use of the Paris locations.