Film

High Society

Other titles called High Society: the 2015 series (SBS).

A musical romantic comedy where a Philadelphia socialite's carefully planned wedding unravels when her charming ex-husband and a cynical tabloid reporter arrive with competing agendas. It's a frothy, elegant affair—all witty banter, Cole Porter songs, and the particular alchemy of stars who know exactly how to deliver a line. Ideal for anyone who loves old Hollywood glamour without pretension.

TMDb rating3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy sparkling, quick-witted romantic comedies where the banter does most of the work and a jazz standard can stop a scene cold, the way Cole Porter-era musicals did.

Skip it if you want a musical with plot-driven songs or fresh modern rhythms, since the numbers here are mostly old-school standards staged between chatter and champagne.

What it asks of you: It runs about under two hours and stays light on its feet, so you need to be happy to sit with polished talk and social maneuvering rather than sharp stakes.

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

If you liked this

Singin' in the Rain1952

The gold standard of Hollywood musicals: impeccable dancing, infectious joy, and three leads who seem to genuinely adore each other. The comedy lands hard and often, the romance feels earned.

But Gene Kelly's ankle tap-dancing and the extended dream sequence won't convert anyone who finds musicals overwrought. Some find the tone uneven.

Singin' in the Rain poster

Roman Holiday1953

A princess and a reporter spend 24 hours together in Rome; like High Society, it's a romantic caper built on witty dialogue, real chemistry, and a bittersweet awareness that happiness might be temporary.

But Audrey Hepburn's character is ultimately passive. The ending, though beautiful, might feel defeatist to modern viewers.

Roman Holiday poster

Funny Face1957

Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire navigate Paris and fashion with the same effortless elegance High Society radiates. The dance numbers are stunning, the romance is smart, and Gershwin does the heavy lifting on the songs.

But Fred Astaire is in his sixties; if you can't adjust to that in a romantic lead, you won't get past the first scene. The plot is gossamer-thin.

Funny Face poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from High Society

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Pal Joey1957

Both feature Frank Sinatra and both are built on a specific moment in early 1950s musical cinema, but Pal Joey inverts the register entirely—cynicism instead of charm, darkness instead of light.

Frank Sinatra in a completely different register: a charming, amoral nightclub dancer using women ruthlessly. Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, and Rodgers & Hart songs create a far grittier musical than High Society. It shows what Sinatra could do when not confined to romantic lead.

But Sinatra's character is genuinely unlikeable, which breaks the romantic comedy contract. The tonal swerves between lightness and moral ambiguity are jarring.

Pal Joey poster
More like this (7)

It Happened One Night1934

The original screwball romantic comedy: a runaway heiress meets a cynical reporter, and they bicker their way toward love across America. Fast, smart, genuinely funny—the template High Society builds on.

But It's 1934, so the pacing is glacial by modern standards. Clark Gable's machismo in the early scenes hasn't aged gracefully.

It Happened One Night poster

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

Audrey Hepburn as a reinvented socialite, Henry Mancini's score, glamorous New York, and a romance built on understanding rather than grand gestures. Lighter than it sounds, with real emotional weight underneath.

But The racial caricature is painful and indefensible. George Peppard's subplot drags, and the ending feels like a compromise.

Breakfast at Tiffany's poster

The Philadelphia Story1940

High Society is essentially a musical remake of this play; Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart in a comedy of remarriage that's sharper and more cynical than it appears. The dialogue is exceptional.

But You'll notice High Society borrowed everything good from it, which somewhat undermines High Society in retrospect. Hepburn's character can be infuriating.

The Philadelphia Story poster

Sabrina1954

Audrey Hepburn as a chauffeur's daughter returns from Paris sophisticated and caught between two brothers. Witty, romantic, gorgeously shot. Givenchy's costumes are characters themselves.

But The class dynamics haven't aged well—the resolution asks you to accept a premise that feels reactionary. Some find it slight.

Sabrina poster

An American in Paris1951

Gene Kelly in Paris, romance, art, and a 17-minute ballet sequence that justifies itself entirely. It's earnest in a way High Society isn't, but equally beautiful and equally entertaining.

But The plot is almost incidental to the spectacle. If you're indifferent to dance, huge chunks will feel like filler.

An American in Paris poster

Gigi1958

Belle Époque Paris, songs by Lerner and Loewe, and a story about a young woman navigating society's expectations with wit and charm. More earnest than High Society but recognizably of the same moment.

But The romance blooms very late, and the pacing of the first act is genuinely sluggish. Leslie Caron takes a while to land as a leading lady.

Gigi poster

Les Girls1957

Cole Porter wrote both scores; Les Girls shares High Society's Paris-and-glamour DNA and its slightly jaundiced view of upper-class romance, but filters everything through competing female perspectives rather than a simple love triangle.

Three female dancers and a man look back on their time together in post-war Paris through unreliable memories. It's a musical, yes, but also structurally complex—the same events told three ways, with George Cukor and Cole Porter. Smarter than it first appears.

But The female characters are written for 1950s audiences, and none of them have much agency outside the romantic plot. The structure can feel gimmicky rather than purposeful.

Les Girls poster

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Recommended by

On the Town, Kiss Me Kate, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, The Ocean's 11 Story, Two Sisters from Boston, That Touch of Mink, Pal Joey, Jailhouse Rock, Call Me Madam, A Diva's Christmas Carol, Orchestra Wives, Under the Cherry Moon, The Fabulous Dorseys