Slightly French

Don Ameche seemed to get typecast as a lying flop in his movies, whether it was as an unsuccessful success coach who lies to his pupil in The Magnificent Dope, a newspaper man who has to rent a wife to impress his family oriented boss in Guest Wife, or a press agent who passes a carnival dancer off as a French actress so he doesn't lose his job at the studio in Slightly French. Maybe he owes it all to playing Stephen Foster, who was notoriously unsuccessful until his death.

You can find some laughs in this movie, especially if you're a Dorothy Lamour fan. Adele Jergens has a small part in the beginning as a French diva who walks off the set in the middle of a big production number. Desperate to replace her with another French actress, director Willard Parker and press agent Don Ameche go on a hunt. Don finds the versatile Dorothy working different jobs at a carnival and pulls a "Henry Higgins" by giving her a crash course in French high society.

For me, the movie became pretty irritating after a while. Dorothy gets a crush on Don while he's Eliza Doolittle-ing her, but you don't really understand why since he's always yelling at her and criticizing her. Instead of letting him know how much he's hurt her feelings, she yells right back. With the constant bickering and dysfunctional relationship, it gives you very little to root for.