Gigi is the first movie musical I remember seeing. I think I was about 6 at the time. My grandmother took my older sister and myself to the movies for the afternoon. My sister hated it and begged my grandmother to take us out of the theater. I had to do everything big sis did at that point, so I screamed and wailed that I hated it, as well, and my poor grandmother had to leave the theater halfway through the movie, with two annoying, crying children trailing behind her.
About fifteen years later Gigi crossed my path again, this time on late night cable. And I fell in love. I've been in love with this movie ever since. I can sing all the songs and quote much of the dialogue. My poor VHS tape of it is on its last legs.
Smallville's debonair, worldy Lex Luthor and innocent and charming Clark Kent have always seemed perfectly suited to take on the roles of Gaston LaChaille, the jaded playboy and Gigi, the exuberant, engaging, but also very young love of his life. Clex the Classics finally gave me the impetus to put that plot bunny in action, and it was a tremendously fun story to write.
Gigi is not a particularly chatty film. Much of the story is told via song and dance numbers and montages, and when I attempted to recreate it via narrative storytelling, it felt flat and disappointing to me. I tried again with an epistolary style, which seemed to suit my muses much better.
I hope you enjoyed my version of this wonderful movie.
Thanks to Peach1250 and Drkcherry for beta reading. They're the best! Thanks to Fromward, and Shattered for putting together such a fun challenge and to Fromward, Shattered, Lil_lj and Lydkami for all their hard work on the archive!