History Film / Gigi

* IdleRich: Gaston is so bored with life as an ultra-rich man in Paris that he has a whole number on the subject: "It's a Bore". His disinterest in such shallow living is what makes him seek out the genuine good company of Mamita and Gigi, thus giving us the setting of the film.

* PimpedOutDress: Given all the upper class characters, several of these are worn throughout the film.

** Gaston’s surprise at the Gigi’s [[SheCleansUpNicely new dress scene]] is revelatory in that he’d never thought of her as grown-up until that moment. Leslie Caron was in her mid-twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's about sixteen.

** This further deepens Gaston’s LoveEpiphany as he realizes his affection for Gigi is significantly deeper than a shallow transactional relationship of courtesan and benefactor. Not to mention, something similar to a BeserckButton goes off here as he can’t stand other people thinking so flippantly of, and meeting at, Gigi. Perhaps GreenEyedMonster?
* WorstNewsJudgmentEver: When Liane tries to kill herself after Gaston dumps her, it's front-page news.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. She dresses like a young girl (in particular she wears her hair down, which girls generally did until they were fifteen or sixteen) and at times she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's portrayed as a blossoming young lady. Leslie Caron was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's ''nearly'' sixteen (i.e. about fifteen and a half).

Gaston is a rich Parisian who wants to break from the stultifying traditions of his family. He finds refuge in his time with Gigi, a young girl raised by her aunt and grandmother to be a rich man's courtesan. For quite a while, the two see each other as siblings, nothing more. Over time, Gaston comes to the realization that Gigi has grown up. Can he really bear to take her as his mistress?

* IdleRich: Gaston is so bored with life as an ultra-rich man in Paris that he has a whole number on the subject: "It's a Bore". Unfortunately the French Revolution is no longer going, so there's no one to put him on a guillotine.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. She dresses like a young girl (in particular she wears her hair down, which girls generally did until they were fifteen or sixteen) and at times she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's portrayed as a blossoming young lady. Leslie Caron was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's ''nearly'' sixteen.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the novella Gigi has ash blonde hair and blue eyes. Both {{Audrey Hepburn}} (who played Gigi in the stage play) and Leslie Caron are brunettes, and Hepburn has brown eyes.

A 1958 MGM movie musical based on the 1944 novella by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ''Gigi'' was directed by Creator/VincenteMinnelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, following their success on ''Theatre/MyFairLady''. Starring Leslie Caron as the eponymous Gigi and Creator/MauriceChevalier as the narrator Honoré, the film won all nine of its UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, including Best Picture, breaking the record set by ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind''.[[note]]Not counting the latter's two special awards.[[/note]]

A 1958 MGM movie musical based on the 1944 novella by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ''Gigi'' was directed by Creator/VincenteMinnelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, following their success on ''Theatre/MyFairLady''. Starring Leslie Caron as the eponymous Gigi and Creator/MauriceChevalier as the narrator Honoré, the film won all nine of its UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, including Best Picture, breaking the record set by ''GoneWithTheWind''. [[note]]Not counting the latter's two special awards.[[/note]]

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. At times, she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's portrayed as a blossoming young lady. Leslie Caron was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's ''nearly'' sixteen.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. At times, she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's portrayed as a blossoming young lady. The actress was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's sixteen. ''Nearly'' sixteen.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. At times, she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's portrayed as a blossoming young lady. The actress was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's sixteen.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. At times, she seems remarkably childlike and is treated like a child by the other characters, but other times she's treated as a blossoming young lady. The actress was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's sixteen.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. At times, she seems remarkably childlike, but other times she's treated as a blossoming young lady. The actress was in her twenties, [[DawsonCasting clearly older than the character]], so that's no help. In the original source novel, she's sixteen.

* VagueAge: It's never clear how old Gigi is meant to be. It's hard to make any kind of guess since the actress was in her late twenties while the character seems to fluctuate between petulant child and blossoming young lady. In the original source novel, she's sixteen.

* DisappearedDad: Gigi's father, never even mentioned.

* LovingDetails: Parodied in the song "I Remember It Well" from Gigi. Honoré tries to convince Mamita that she's the love of his life by reciting details about their last evening together (before he cheated on her), but he gets them all wrong. She, on the other hand, remembers the details perfectly and corrects him each time he makes a mistake.

* HighClassCallGirl: Calling her a "courtesan" makes it sound nicer. What's amazing is that Gigi's grandmother and aunt look down on Gigi's mother for getting a job instead of following family tradition and becoming a fancy prostitute, though admittedly they're probably more condemning of the fact that said job brings in so little money.
** Keep in mind, though, that courtesans were a ''high'' step above prostitutes; they moved in distinguished circles, chose their own clients, maintained their own flats and could rake in a considerable fortune. Gigi's mother, by contrast, is 'slaving away at the Opéra Comique in ridiculous little roles.' Who can blame Grandmama for being annoyed?
* IdleRich: Gaston is so bored with life as an ultra-rich man in Paris that he has a whole number, "It's a Bore". Unfortunately the French Revolution is no longer going, so there's no one to put him on a guillotine.

A 1958 MGM movie musical based on the 1944 novella by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ''Gigi'' was directed by Creator/VincenteMinnelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, following their success on ''Theatre/MyFairLady''. Starring Creator/MauriceChevalier and Leslie Caron as the eponymous Gigi, the film won all nine of its UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, including Best Picture, breaking the record set by ''GoneWithTheWind''. [[note]]Not counting the latter's two special awards.[[/note]]

* AllMusicalsAreAdaptations: of a novel by Colette
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Honore addressing the camera on multiple occasions.
* CoolOldGuy: Honore.

** Keep in mind, though, that courtesans were a ''high'' step above prostitutes; they moved in distinguished circles, chose their own clients, maintained their own flats and could rake in a considerable fortune. Gigi's mother, by contrast, is 'slaving away at the Opera Comique in ridiculous little roles.' Who can blame Grandmama for being annoyed?

* TheMistress: The role Gigi is being groomed for. Mamita prefers the term "courtesan"
* ParentalAbandonment: Gigi's father is never mentioned unless he is the "young man with all those flour mills" whom her grandmother almost implies to be him (especially given Gigi's reaction when she says this), and her mother "has neither the mind nor the inclination to take care of her" being absorbed by being a second-rate opera singer. Gigi was raised by her grandmother.

A 1958 MGM movie musical based on the 1944 novella by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ''Gigi'' was directed by Creator/VincenteMinnelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, following their success on ''Theatre/MyFairLady''. Starring Creator/MauriceChevalier and Leslie Caron as the eponymous Gigi, the film won all nine of its AcademyAward nominations, including Best Picture, breaking the record set by ''GoneWithTheWind''. [[note]]Not counting the latter's two special awards.[[/note]]

->''"Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!
Thank heaven for little girls

->Thank heaven for little girls
->for little girls get bigger every day!
->Thank heaven for little girls
->they grow up in the most delightful way!

* HighClassCallGirl: Calling her a "courtesan" makes it sound nicer. What's amazing is that Gigi's grandmother and aunt look down on Gigi's mother for getting a job instead of following family tradition and becoming a fancy prostitute; though admittedly they might be more condemning of the fact that said job brings in so little money.

* HighClassCallGirl: Calling her a "courtesan" makes it sound nicer. What's amazing is that Gigi's grandmother and aunt look down on Gigi's mother for getting a job instead of following family tradition and becoming a fancy prostitute.