Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) ****

Vincente Minnelli's Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) is filled with all the qualities that make a truly classic movie musical—exuberance, melodrama, memorable songs, beautiful costumes, and wonderful performances. Though it seems tenuous, the illusion of the perfect family dynamic is never shattered. Even in the film's darker moments the Smith family bond seems to be unbreakable. MMISL hits all the precise beats for maximum entertainment—it's joyful, it's fun and fancy free, it's melancholic, and it's a tearjerker. As the saying goes, they don't make 'em like they used to.