Classic Cinema Spotlight: Sweet Charity (1969)

Shirley McLaine, Bob Fosse, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen (in his first movie role), and Ricardo Montalban-all in a musical movie made in the sixties? With Sweet Charity (1969), I was easily sold and not disappointed. Set in New York City, Charity (Shirley McLaine) is the kind of happy-go-lucky girl who is just looking for the right boy to be happy with. But her luck is the kind no one wants. One man robs her of her entire savings while she thought they were going to get married and another sweeps her off her feet only too forget about her the moment an ex-girlfriend walks back into the apartment and ends up hiding in the closet while the other two make love. Charity just has no luck when it comes to love. Charity calls it "Fickle Finger of Fate" whenever she tries to explain why she makes the rotten decisions that she does.

She does have some solid girlfriends in Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly) who surround her with support and amazing musical numbers. One iconic number is happens when Charity goes to her job as a taxi dancer at the Fandago Ballroom and start singing "Hey, Big Spender". Her friends try and give her good advice with the best being that Nickie tells her honestly that she really is a pushover. Is Charity a pushover? She is for sure a hopeless romantic with a big emphasis on hopeless. Charity also has a tendency to over extend herself to men that makes her looks desperate. That's when Vittorio Vitale played by the always handsome, Ricardo Montalban. The best part of meeting him was the song Charity sings, "If They Could See Me Now".

Things go from bad to worse to possibly hopeful when she meets the sweet Oscar. But will this be her forever love? Will Charity finally settle down with the man of her dreams or does she need to do some deep soul searching before that can happen? For me this film highlights New York City in the sixties, it showcases Bob Fosse's incredible talents, shares some catchy songs, and has a slew of talented actors. But it also screams about the importance of self love, self worth, and self respect. If Charity had some of those she would be able to make better decisions that could lead her to her happiness. The film ends with that possibility that maybe one day she will love herself enough to put herself first. Like many films from the sixties, it is left ambiguous. The viewer can only hope that sweet Charity finds her happy ending one day.