Stars: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan
Director: Howard Hawks
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars
The film is about Lorelai Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Russell), two
girls from Little Rock who are trying to make it big in show business and in
love (I always say it’s a good sign if I don’t have to look up the names of the
characters the next day when I’m writing the review, and I honestly remembered
all of the characters in this film’s names, so bravo to all involved on that front). Lorelai and Dorothy are best friends, but have different ideas of what they want out of a man. Lorelai is hoping for financial security, riches, and all the fabulousness that comes with it. Dorothy is interested in good-looking men, which is the 1950's way of saying that she's horny and cares less about the size of his pocketbook and more about the size of his...well, you know.
The girls end up on a cruise to Paris, and along the way they meet two men: Ernie Malone (Reid), an undercover detective who falls for Dorothy and Piggy (Coburn), a wealthy and randy diamond magnate, whom Lorelai charms and flirts with, to the chagrin of his wife. The film follows a line of plot that you'd expect at this point-Lorelai is found out for her flirting by her naive fiance back home (and his disapproving father), Ernie eventually does what his job demands by telling the father of Lorelai's flirting but still gets his girl anyway, and everyone lives happily ever after.
With such a predictable plot, and quite frankly, some fairly ordinary musical numbers (excluding the legendary "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"), the film lives and dies off of the panache and luster of the two stars, and here the movie obtains a home run. Jane Russell has a bawdiness that lends itself to every line, and manages to sell "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" with the right amount of winking, considering it's the gayest scene I've ever seen in a movie (and that includes Corbin Fisher). Monroe is also aces (she truly could act, or at least had the right sense to pursue roles tailor-made for her). The film's big "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number is a Technicolor marvel, with the red backdrop clashing splendidly with Monroe's iconic William Travilla shocking pink gown.
And while the film is a question mark on the Bechdel Test, it's wonderfully nice to see a film starring two female friends who genuinely like each other and not once end up in a love triangle quarrel with a man. The thing I was most struck by when I took a step back was how unconventional this was-can you name another romantic comedy of this era where two women who are friends don't argue over who ends up with a specific guy? It's refreshing, and it's also nice to see that they never really throw each other under the bus-there is no The Women-style quarreling here, just two women looking out for each other. In an otherwise routine film (plot-wise), this was a lovely treat.
Those are my thoughts on the film, some sixty years after it was released-what were yours? Did you enjoy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? And what is your hair color preference (it's a cheeky movie, I'll ask a cheeky question)?
The girls end up on a cruise to Paris, and along the way they meet two men: Ernie Malone (Reid), an undercover detective who falls for Dorothy and Piggy (Coburn), a wealthy and randy diamond magnate, whom Lorelai charms and flirts with, to the chagrin of his wife. The film follows a line of plot that you'd expect at this point-Lorelai is found out for her flirting by her naive fiance back home (and his disapproving father), Ernie eventually does what his job demands by telling the father of Lorelai's flirting but still gets his girl anyway, and everyone lives happily ever after.
With such a predictable plot, and quite frankly, some fairly ordinary musical numbers (excluding the legendary "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"), the film lives and dies off of the panache and luster of the two stars, and here the movie obtains a home run. Jane Russell has a bawdiness that lends itself to every line, and manages to sell "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" with the right amount of winking, considering it's the gayest scene I've ever seen in a movie (and that includes Corbin Fisher). Monroe is also aces (she truly could act, or at least had the right sense to pursue roles tailor-made for her). The film's big "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number is a Technicolor marvel, with the red backdrop clashing splendidly with Monroe's iconic William Travilla shocking pink gown.
And while the film is a question mark on the Bechdel Test, it's wonderfully nice to see a film starring two female friends who genuinely like each other and not once end up in a love triangle quarrel with a man. The thing I was most struck by when I took a step back was how unconventional this was-can you name another romantic comedy of this era where two women who are friends don't argue over who ends up with a specific guy? It's refreshing, and it's also nice to see that they never really throw each other under the bus-there is no The Women-style quarreling here, just two women looking out for each other. In an otherwise routine film (plot-wise), this was a lovely treat.
Those are my thoughts on the film, some sixty years after it was released-what were yours? Did you enjoy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? And what is your hair color preference (it's a cheeky movie, I'll ask a cheeky question)?
No comments:
Post a Comment