Summary:
Two down on their luck male musicians must fleet Chicago after witnessing a mob hit, disguising themselves as two females for an all girls band playing in Florida.
My Thoughts:
Though this film is number one on AFI’s best comedies list, and it’s almost always mentioned when someone talks about great comedies, I had never gone out of my way to see this film, nor had I really cared to. Marilyn Monroe is a classic Hollywood cult icon much like James Dean- their personalities are known to you even if their movies are not- and if I’m being honest, Marilyn Monroe’s personality never really interested me much (I went through an Audrey Hepburn phase- and that’s about the closest I came to falling in love with an icon). Her characters, from what I could tell, were all about sex- dripping with sleaze- and I didn’t really find that particularly humorous. But, after Criterion announced their edition coming out, I decided that maybe I should check it out after all, and I’m thrilled that I did. Everyone says this is one of the funniest movies ever made, and I’m not going to tell you any different: this movie is hysterical, but it’s also sentimental and sweet, and it makes trenchant comments on the relationship between men and women. This is one of smarter written comedies I’ve seen- right up there with "Doctor Strangelove”.
“Nobody’s Perfect.”
Joe (Tony Curtis, “Sweet Smell of Success”) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon, “The Apartment”) are two jazz musicians living in Chicago during prohibition, struggling to make ends meet. After they witness a hit by the mob, they decide to flee the city dressed as women in order to join an all-girls band that has a three-week gig in Florida. Along the way, the pair meets Sugar ‘Kane’ Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe, “Seven Year Itch”), a good-natured but naïve singer.
So first and foremost, the influence of this film still stretches to today. This is one of the more risqué movies I’ve seen to come out of the fifties- there are dozens of jokes that are about sex (some of them more thinly veiled than others), but the way that the topic is approached in a way that still feels somewhat classy. Many of the jokes and gags are done through clever word play, but there is also a fair amount of slapstick in the film too. I would venture to guess that films like this are still huge influences on comedians in the Judd Apatow group, but also classic comedians like Mel Brooks.
Really, the thing that makes this film work the most is the performances of Tony Curtis and in particular Jack Lemmon (Marilyn’s performance is fine too, but she’s not overly hilarious). The relationship between the two leads is established long before the cross-dressing antics, and they’re both likeable even before the real comedic moments start. The film really ramps up after the mob hit, however, and it’s in the fray of the insanity that the two really shine. The tensions they face, and the ridiculous lengths they go through to try to try to hid the fact that they’re men, is absolutely hysterical. Some of the smartest moments as far as writing go come from when the men begin to realize what sort of harassment women face on a day-to-day basis. It makes points about how men can come off as single-minded- it feels very reminiscent of points that arose during the #MeToo movement- and in that way, it’s very ahead of its time. The film is also dripping with classic Hollywood nostalgia, and that alone was enough for me to want to revisit it.
As far as Marilyn goes, she’s fine. I don’t think this film made me reassess who she is as an actress- I still think she’s a famous icon essentially because she’s a sex icon. That’s fine, I suppose, she’s immortalized herself, but she’s not the sort of actress I’m going to fall in love with and go out of my way to see all her films. At the same time, I won’t avoid them anymore. I have plans to see the “Seven-Year Itch" now, and that’s a film I never had interest in before.
Verdict:
I absolutely loved this movie- its risqué enough to keep things funny and interesting, but not so risqué that it would shock modern audiences. There’s lots of great writing and plenty of amazing performances, and the way the film ends is just delightful. I can’t recommend this enough.
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