Gigi

Brief Synopsis:

"Gigi" is the delightful story of a young girl coming of age in Paris in the late 1800s. Parallel to Gigi's story is the story of Gaston, a friend of Gigi and her grandmother. Gaston represents the carefree, upper class of Parisian society that concerns itself primarily with love, money and a life of leisure. Gigi and her grandmother, on the other hand, represent the reality of the poorer classes. Gaston is more comfortable and happier in Gigi's world than in his own and their lives are intertwined as he escapes from the boredom of his meaningless life to the reality of Gigi's world.

The movie "Gigi" was based on the novel by Colette and the non-musical Broadway play (1951) that starred Audrey Hepburn. The movie was the last major movie musical produced by M-G-M studios. In 1991, the movie "Gigi" was chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry.

Detailed Synopsis:

Gigi (Leslie Caron) is a young, energetic teenage girl, growing up in 19th century Paris. Her mother is an unsuccessful opera singer who has no time for Gigi so it is her grandmother who raises her.

Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan) is a rich French aristocrat who is a friend of both Gigi and her grandmother. He thinks of Gigi as a delightful child and he enjoys spending time with her, as a relief from the boring life of the rich people of Paris. His uncle, Honore Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier), who gives Gaston advice on women, once had a love affair with Gigi's grandmother.

Gaston's latest lover cheats on him and he breaks off their relationship. On the advice of his uncle, Gaston starts dating many women and he becomes the talk of all of Paris society. Naturally, Gigi reads all about Gaston's romantic adventures.

To get away from the madness of his Parisian life, Gaston takes Gigi and her grandmother away on a vacation and, unconsciously, he falls in love with Gigi. When they return to Paris, Gigi's aunt and grandmother are concerned with Gigi's relationship with Gaston because of his playboy reputation. Gigi's grandmother tells Gaston that he can only see Gigi if he agrees to "take care" of her.

Gigi has blossomed into a beautiful young woman and Gaston realizes that he is in love with her and she, of course, is in love with him. In the end, Gaston tells Gigi's grandmother that he wants to marry Gigi.