Post by klep on Oct 1, 2018 7:24:27 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/1: Some Like It Hot
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
One of Billy Wilder's great strengths was his gift for exploring the odd niches of human behavior. In Ace in the Hole, for example, he showed an incisive understanding of the perverse incentives behind news media; crafting a film that is perhaps even more relevant today than it was at the time. But while that film was an acidic noir, a number of years later he would use that insight to craft Some Like It Hot, one of film's best romantic comedies.
Some LIke It Hot is about two men Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) who are hard-up, freelance musicians in prohibition Chicago. But when they witness a mob hit, they have to get out of town fast. Jerry had earlier hit on the idea of pretending to be women and joining a band on its way to Florida, but it's only under threat of death that it becomes something Joe is willing to go along with.
So it is that Daphne (Jerry) and Josephine (Joe) board a train with their new bandmates. Jerry and Joe play their parts well, bearing up to some fairly close scrutiny. But while Joe is clearly playing a part, Jerry takes to it like a fish to water. So much so, that it's easy to wonder if he's discovering something about himself on this whole trip. Both initially fall under the spell of Marilyn Monroe's Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, but Joe soon pushes Jerry out of the way so he can make his own play by pretending to be a Shell Oil heir.
None of this is to say that Jerry now identifies as a woman, it's more that he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Where Joe seems focused on ditching Josephine as soon as he can, Jerry seems much more happy to fully engage as Daphne and take things wherever they may lead. Initially Jerry's hoping it will lead to some time in the sack with Sugar, but it's not really surprising when he's delighted to get engaged to wealthy Osgood (Joe E. Brown).
Wilder's script gives Jerry's gender ambivalence and Joe & Sugar's courtship a rousing wit, full of double-entendres and snappy repartee. It keeps the story as a fleet farce instead of the disturbing psychodrama it could be in less comedically and satirically inclined hands. And raging in the eye of the storm is Marilyn Monroe.
Reportedly a very difficult actress to work with in general and on this production in particular, you can nevertheless see why every effort went into accommodating and working with her. From the moment Marilyn comes on screen, she radiates this intense charisma and has incredible chemistry with the camera. And while it may have taken a lot of takes for her to get her lines right, in the final cut they're delivered with a natural ease.
In the end, Wilder gives everyone at least part of what they want, but it does come with caveats. Sugar has fallen for another saxophone player, but seems content with that. Joe and Jerry are still on the run, but one has found love and the other security. And even if Osgood wasn't looking to get married to a man, well, nobody's perfect.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/8: The Fly (1986)
REMAKE WEEK!
For Remake Week we'll be looking at David Cronenberg's reimagining of 1958's The Fly. Come join us next week for our discussion of this film from one of the masters of unsettling cinema, starring young Jeff Goldblum! They Fly is available for rent from Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/4: Roger & Me
This week the podcast returns with a look at the career of Michael Moore, starting with his groundbreaking documentary Roger & Me. Roger & Me is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
One of Billy Wilder's great strengths was his gift for exploring the odd niches of human behavior. In Ace in the Hole, for example, he showed an incisive understanding of the perverse incentives behind news media; crafting a film that is perhaps even more relevant today than it was at the time. But while that film was an acidic noir, a number of years later he would use that insight to craft Some Like It Hot, one of film's best romantic comedies.
Some LIke It Hot is about two men Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) who are hard-up, freelance musicians in prohibition Chicago. But when they witness a mob hit, they have to get out of town fast. Jerry had earlier hit on the idea of pretending to be women and joining a band on its way to Florida, but it's only under threat of death that it becomes something Joe is willing to go along with.
So it is that Daphne (Jerry) and Josephine (Joe) board a train with their new bandmates. Jerry and Joe play their parts well, bearing up to some fairly close scrutiny. But while Joe is clearly playing a part, Jerry takes to it like a fish to water. So much so, that it's easy to wonder if he's discovering something about himself on this whole trip. Both initially fall under the spell of Marilyn Monroe's Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, but Joe soon pushes Jerry out of the way so he can make his own play by pretending to be a Shell Oil heir.
None of this is to say that Jerry now identifies as a woman, it's more that he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Where Joe seems focused on ditching Josephine as soon as he can, Jerry seems much more happy to fully engage as Daphne and take things wherever they may lead. Initially Jerry's hoping it will lead to some time in the sack with Sugar, but it's not really surprising when he's delighted to get engaged to wealthy Osgood (Joe E. Brown).
Wilder's script gives Jerry's gender ambivalence and Joe & Sugar's courtship a rousing wit, full of double-entendres and snappy repartee. It keeps the story as a fleet farce instead of the disturbing psychodrama it could be in less comedically and satirically inclined hands. And raging in the eye of the storm is Marilyn Monroe.
Reportedly a very difficult actress to work with in general and on this production in particular, you can nevertheless see why every effort went into accommodating and working with her. From the moment Marilyn comes on screen, she radiates this intense charisma and has incredible chemistry with the camera. And while it may have taken a lot of takes for her to get her lines right, in the final cut they're delivered with a natural ease.
In the end, Wilder gives everyone at least part of what they want, but it does come with caveats. Sugar has fallen for another saxophone player, but seems content with that. Joe and Jerry are still on the run, but one has found love and the other security. And even if Osgood wasn't looking to get married to a man, well, nobody's perfect.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/8: The Fly (1986)
REMAKE WEEK!
For Remake Week we'll be looking at David Cronenberg's reimagining of 1958's The Fly. Come join us next week for our discussion of this film from one of the masters of unsettling cinema, starring young Jeff Goldblum! They Fly is available for rent from Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/4: Roger & Me
This week the podcast returns with a look at the career of Michael Moore, starting with his groundbreaking documentary Roger & Me. Roger & Me is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.