Half a Century Later and Still Funny
It always fascinates me when a movie so far removed from the culture I'm familiar with can still be outright hilarious at times. Dwight D. Eisenhower was approaching the end of his presidency, hippies didn't exist yet, and the price of a matinee movie ticket was less than a dollar. Being the man of history that I am, I was especially aware of just how taboo a subject such as extramarital affairs was in American culture in 1960. The movie both creates modern humor and stark realism that combine to make this film entertaining and highly enjoyable.
Let's pay the actors their dues first. This is the first film I have ever seen with Jack Lemmon and boy was I impressed. He displayed a range of abilities from happy-go-lucky to deliriously drunk with a smoothness not often seen in acting these days. Shirley MacLaine was a doll as usual and after watching this movie it becomes alarming easy to see how her acting talents really are timeless. The rest of the cast had their moments but nothing extraordinary; Lemmon and MacLaine carried the movie. As I mentioned in the opening, there were moments in this movie when I laughed out loud and other moments when I was captivated by utter seriousness. Wonderfully written, there really isn't too much wrong with this movie.
Of course, I am not totally immune to the glaring differences an older movie like this can accentuate with a "youthful" viewer such as myself. Many of the transitional dialogue was, well, cheesy, and helped to trigger several eye rolls throughout the film. Yet, these weren't negative aspects in the movie. They were cute, but unfortunately devalued the movie for me.
A great film if you are looking for something different. After all, it did win best picture ages ago. I would recommend this any time, anywhere.
Written August 27, 2013
Let's pay the actors their dues first. This is the first film I have ever seen with Jack Lemmon and boy was I impressed. He displayed a range of abilities from happy-go-lucky to deliriously drunk with a smoothness not often seen in acting these days. Shirley MacLaine was a doll as usual and after watching this movie it becomes alarming easy to see how her acting talents really are timeless. The rest of the cast had their moments but nothing extraordinary; Lemmon and MacLaine carried the movie. As I mentioned in the opening, there were moments in this movie when I laughed out loud and other moments when I was captivated by utter seriousness. Wonderfully written, there really isn't too much wrong with this movie.
Of course, I am not totally immune to the glaring differences an older movie like this can accentuate with a "youthful" viewer such as myself. Many of the transitional dialogue was, well, cheesy, and helped to trigger several eye rolls throughout the film. Yet, these weren't negative aspects in the movie. They were cute, but unfortunately devalued the movie for me.
A great film if you are looking for something different. After all, it did win best picture ages ago. I would recommend this any time, anywhere.
Written August 27, 2013