Film

Can-Can

A lavish 1960 Parisian musical romance where a can-can club owner and a prim judge clash over morality, propriety, and whether a high kick is an outrage or art. Sinatra and MacLaine sparkle through Cole Porter songs and extravagant dance numbers. Pure escapist gloss—the movie equivalent of champagne and sequins.

TMDb rating3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love glossy, old-fashioned studio musicals where brisk showbiz banter, bright set pieces and a sly, flirtatious romance carry the day.

Skip it if you find Sinatra-era swagger and long, leisurely numbers hard going, since at 142 minutes the film lingers and its gags can feel stretched.

What it asks of you: It runs just under two and a half hours, with long song-and-dance set pieces and a light, teasing tone that rarely turns sharp.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

An American in Paris1951

Gene Kelly dancing through postwar Paris with Gershwin's music, gorgeous Technicolor, and the same intoxicating sense that romance blooms on every corner. It's the gold standard of mid-century musical escapism.

But Nearly two hours, and the plot is tissue-thin. The spectacle is the point, which won't appeal if you want narrative substance.

An American in Paris poster

Singin' in the Rain1952

The most purely joyful musical ever made. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor are unstoppable, the songs are immortal, and it captures that same effervescent 1920s-30s Hollywood glamour that Can-Can reaches for.

But Extremely broad comedy that borders on slapstick. If you want subtlety or modern sensibilities, look elsewhere.

Singin' in the Rain poster

Funny Face1957

Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in Paris, with Gershwin again and Stanley Donen's direction. It's sophisticated, romantic, and every number feels like visual poetry. Elegance itself.

But The romance between the leads has a significant age gap that reads uncomfortably by today's standards, even if it felt romantic then.

Funny Face poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Can-Can

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Gypsy1962

Both are musicals set in theatrical worlds where morality clashes with the desire to perform and be desired. But where Can-Can laughs at the clash, Gypsy examines its wreckage.

Rosalind Russell as the ultimate stage mother, a Sondheim score of genuine darkness beneath the vaudeville trappings, and a musical that takes its material seriously. It's about ambition, hunger, and the cost of performance—far more complex than Can-Can's surface charm.

But Bleak and occasionally grim. The famous mommy-dearest energy comes with real psychological damage on screen. Not escapism.

Gypsy poster
More like this (8)

My Fair Lady1964

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in a glittering romance built on wit, transformation, and Lerner and Loewe's incomparable score. It won Best Picture for a reason—this is the musical at its most assured.

But Runs over three hours. Henry Higgins is a brute, and the ending asks you to accept that charm excuses cruelty.

My Fair Lady poster

Gigi1958

French belle époque Paris, Leslie Caron in an enchanting performance, Maurice Chevalier (who's also in Can-Can), and a score that sweeps you away. Effortlessly elegant and deeply romantic.

But The premise involves grooming a young girl for courtship in a morally dubious way. The film doesn't interrogate it; it romanticizes it.

Gigi poster

The Band Wagon1953

Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse with Arthur Schwartz songs and a backstage-musical premise that lets the dance numbers breathe. Smarter and more playful than most musicals of its era.

But The plot about putting on a show feels thin even by musical standards. Essentially a framework for the dancing.

The Band Wagon poster

Silk Stockings1957

Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse again, Cole Porter scoring, and a Cold War satire that's genuinely witty. It's lighter and more fun than its premise suggests, with extraordinary choreography.

But The political satire feels dated and occasionally reductive. Some might find the tone uneven between romance and farce.

Silk Stockings poster

The Unsinkable Molly Brown1964

Debbie Reynolds at peak radiance, a genuinely likable heroine, charm that feels earned rather than imposed, and a meatier story than most musicals. Meredith Willson's score is warm and funny.

But Solidly made but less visually sumptuous than the true spectacles. The 1960s style feels more dated than films from a decade earlier.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown poster

Kiss Me Kate1953

A Shakespeare-inspired musical with Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, built on Cole Porter's wit and Howard Keel's magnificent baritone. Genuinely clever and absolutely gorgeous in Technicolor.

But The taming-of-the-shrew dynamic hasn't aged well. Some of the dialogue is clunky, and the tone shifts awkwardly.

Kiss Me Kate poster

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg1964

Both are gorgeous mid-century musicals set in Paris that use color and song to transport you. But Cherbourg uses that beauty to break your heart, where Can-Can uses it to make you forget to care.

A French musical in vibrant Technicolor with Deneuve and Legrand's achingly beautiful score. It's ravishing to watch, genuinely romantic, and deeply sad in ways Can-Can never attempts. Pure cinema.

But Entirely sung-through dialogue will alienate you if you want naturalism. The ending is unhappy in a way that contradicts the film's visual candy.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg poster

Pennies from Heaven1981

Both are musicals about desire and performance in worlds where social convention threatens freedom. Pennies asks what the cost of that freedom actually is.

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in a Depression-era musical that's unexpectedly erotic, deeply sad, and structurally daring—it cuts to elaborate fantasy numbers that contradict the bleak reality. It's what can happen when you take musicals seriously.

But Tone whiplash. The sexual content is explicit. The ending is devastating. This is not a feel-good film; it's a provocation disguised as a musical.

Pennies from Heaven poster

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