Thanks a Million: A Musical Run for Office

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school Hollywood musicals where the plot doesn't matter as much as the tap dancing, you’ll probably have a decent time. If you need your political satire to be sharp or realistic, skip this and go watch something else. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it’s very much a product of its era. 🎩

Watching Thanks a Million feels like being at a party where everyone is trying just a little too hard to be charming. Dick Powell is doing that thing he does—the wide-eyed, grinning hero act that makes you wonder how he ever got himself into this mess. He wanders into a rally, opens his mouth to speak, and suddenly he’s the next big thing in politics. It’s ridiculous, but that’s the charm, I guess.

There is this one scene where the candidate is just completely smashed, and the way the camera tracks the confusion in the room feels really organic compared to the more rehearsed musical numbers. It’s not smooth, but it’s real.

The pacing is a bit of a rollercoaster. One minute we’re deep in a boardroom talking about corrupt money, and then—boom—we’re back to a song that completely kills the momentum. It’s like the movie keeps forgetting it’s supposed to be a satire of the political system. It’s far more focused on making sure the audience gets their money’s worth of tunes.

I found myself thinking about The Marked Woman, mostly because of how different the grit level is. This movie is sanitized and polished in a way that feels almost like a fever dream of 1930s optimism. It’s funny how a movie about political corruption can feel so… cozy? 🏛️

Odd bits and pieces:

• The Yacht Club Boys are in this, and honestly, they steal every scene they walk into.
• The rain at the beginning is so clearly fake, but it actually adds to the theatrical vibe.
• The way the political bosses stare at Powell is genuinely creepy, even if it’s played for laughs.
• Patsy Kelly is a treasure. She’s the only one who feels like she knows exactly how silly this all is.

The dialogue is snappy, if a bit predictable. You can tell they wanted it to be punchy like a screwball comedy, but it lands a bit soft. Still, it’s better than the slog of The Social Lion. At least this one has a rhythm to it, even if the rhythm is sometimes just a drum beat for a dance number that goes on for a bit too long.

It’s not trying to change your life. It’s just trying to fill 90 minutes with enough music to distract you from how much the world stinks. In that, it succeeds. Mostly. Sometimes the ending feels rushed, like they just ran out of film and said, "Eh, good enough." I can respect that.