#354- Some Like It Hot (1959)Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon
Directed by: Billy Wilder
Plot Summary: In the city of Chicago, saxophone player Joe and his double-bass player friend Jerry are down on their luck, looking for gigs to hire them. After witnessing a murder by the gangster Spats Colombo, the jazz performers need to find a way to get out of town and take a job with Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators. The only catch is that it is an all-girl band, so Joe and Jerry pose as Josephine and Daphne to get into the group. It is in the band that they meet and befriend Sugar Kane, with Joe displaying stronger feelings towards her. When they get to Miami, Daphne finds herself pursued by millionaire Osgood Fielding III, and Joe assumes the identity of Junior, the heir to Shell Oil, and uses Osgood's yacht to win Sugar over, while both he and Jerry try not to give their true identities away. To make matters worse, Spats and his gang arrive in Miami for a conference that is hosted in the same hotel that Joe and Jerry are hiding in.
After reviewing such film powerhouses as Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and A Streetcar Named Desire, I said to myself "I need a comedy." I've done so many monumental movies over the last 2 months (particularly dramas) that I wanted my next review to be something "lighter" in content. For years, I had a friend back in my home state of California (you know who you are) tell me that I would enjoy Some Like it Hot. He had introduced me to Tony Curtis through The Great Race, which also starred Jack Lemmon, but I was familiar with him thanks to my grandmother's love of the film Grumpy Old Men. As if those two weren't enough to peek my interest for this comedy, it also stars Marilyn Monroe, one of the greatest icons in pop culture history. The pieces were there for an enjoyable viewing experience, and I understood why this was so revolutionary in 1959, but a LOT of the comedy hasn't aged well. But there are also a lot of noteworthy elements that work in the film's favor.
Tony Curtis is the leading man as Joe, who disguises himself as Josephine. Tony Curtis is an actor that I would describe as the "total package." He had the looks, acting and musical talent, he was charming, and he was funny (which is very important to have in a comedy). In theory, Joe should be the "straight man" for a lot of the comedic bits, but a lot of the time, he's the one who draws these hair brained schemes. One of the better parts of the movie is when Curtis has to play Joe masquerading as Josephine AND as Junior (the heir to Shell Oil). The genius of this is that Curtis is playing a character that needs to play two other characters without revealing himself, which leads to a lot of hilarity. A lot of fun also comes in the voices that Joe gives to his alter egos. Josephine has a very stingy accent, but sounds very feminine and accurate, and his accent for Junior is so over the top that it is laughable that anyone would buy it (but they do).
Jack Lemmon plays Jerry, who disguises himself as Daphne. Lemmon has
great delivery and plays a lovable sidekick to Joe. He has a smugness to
him that definitely paints Jerry as a bit of a "creep," but Lemmon has
so much charisma that Jerry is still found likable (something that is
greatly missing in comedic characters nowadays). While, Joe blends into
his disguise more in terms of looks and performance, I think I like
Jerry as Daphne more because Jerry finds himself succumbing to the role
and being "one of the girls" with the rest of the band. Of course,
there's also a decent amount of time where Jerry wants to nail a bunch
of the girls, but his biggest storyline is when Daphne catches the eye
of Osgood Fielding III, played by Joe E. Brown. The millionaire has a
strong love for Daphne, and Jerry wants to exploit that and marry him,
only to divorce him and take half his fortune. There are so many times
where Joe catches Jerry being TOO invested in the character, that it
really does make it seem like something's wrong with Jerry.This might sound weird, but the weakest performer in the main cast is the cultural icon Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane. I understand that the world was in love with Monroe during this time, and she was bubbly in her personality and had those pin-up looks, but I'm sorry to say that she was a horrible actress. Thanks to some online trivia (thanks IMDB), they had her lines taped all throughout sets, had cue cards that you can see her read from, and it took 50 or so takes for her to say simple lines like "It's me, Sugar." Her singing isn't awful, and it's understandable why both Joe and Jerry would try to make passes at Sugar (in all honesty, the character is likable through Monroe's charm), so her character is not a complete failure (just when she has to say a good majority of her lines).
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Maybe jokes about different genders were more groundbreaking in the '50s, but I felt I was missing something involving the humor. Some Like It Hot definitely has great delivery from Curtis and Lemmon, but some of the jokes have gone flat over the decades. I'd still recommend this as a rental for any fans of comedy though, as it is one of the most critically acclaimed comedies in film history, so that should say something for its impact.
Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review
Some Like It Hot and movie images are copyrighted by United Artists
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