A Brigitte Bardot double feature

It's really too bad that Brigitte Bardot became a far-right homophobe and Islamophobe, because this Michel Boisrond double-feature starring the bombshell really makes it obvious why she was so popular. Naughty Girl, from 1956, features Bardot as the foul-mouthed, smart-ass daughter of a nightclub owner who, when he is investigated for fraud, leaves his daughter with the most popular singer at his club so he can disappear for a while. The hijinks and romantic plot you expect follow, but there's a huge difference here between this film and today's pathetic crop of romantic comedies: this movie is witty and has heart, and, most of all, has Bardot at her most charming. You can't help but smile when she swears while trying to clean the pool grate, or engages in back-and-forth with the singer's stuffy butler. She's the best of both worlds, both classy and elegant when she needs to be, and goofy and down-to-earth. Not to mention how stunningly gorgeous she is. IMDB lists Naughty Girl's tagline as: "Come in at the Middle, Beginning, or Even Tell the Ending...Anytime is BARDOT TIME!" The film company used the Bardot factor to the max, not even minding if people came at the end of the movie just to see the star. But this is selling this cute movie short; the scene where Bardot dances in a jail cell and takes home a wise-cracking parrot is enough to warrant a rental of this gem. Come Dance With Me came three years later in 1959, and shows Bardot as the sex kitten woman we know her as. Instead of playing primarily a daughter, she's Virginie (what a name!) the young wife of a dentist who soon becomes under suspicion for a murder he didn't commit. The couple escapres from the police, and Virginie goes undercover at the dead woman's dance studio to try to find who the killer is. Of course, Virginie's charm and considerable assets (prominently displayed throughout the film) get her closer to the real killer than the police. Bardot is again magnetic in the film: the two things that stuck out to me are her hair - those blonde locks are everywhere, so thick and curly, I have total hair envy - and her wardrobe, all high-waisted full skirts and beautiful dresses. The end of the 50s was a great fashion period. But enough about that; Come Dance With Me also has brief nudity and a gay/transvestite subplot, something Hollywood films of that period wouldn't have come close to touching. And although you can see pretty much where the film is going long before it gets there, this is another charming little film, the kind of enjoyable fluff that Hollywood doesn't make anymore. Both these films are available on one disc courtesy of Lionsgate's Brigitte Bardot Collection - I'm looking forward to getting the other disc (with Two Weeks in September and Love on a Pillow) in the near future. Both films: 7/10

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