Review of Adam's Rib (1949) by Caio C — 24 May 2012

Adam (Tracy) and Amanda Bonner (Hepburn) are both lawyers, and just happen to be married. They have a pretty good relationship, but everything goes haywire when Mrs. Doris Attinger (Holliday) decides to shoot at her husband (Ewell) and his mistress (Hagen)-- with Amanda set to defend Doris and Adam to defend the two "lovers".

Amanda is determined to win the case, and intends to get her way by pulling the "both-sexes-are-created-equal" cliche, while Adam plays it old school with the "no-one-should-get-away-with-a-crime".

Shockingly enough, Amanda's way seems to be the way to go, but the case goes a bit too far into their lives when it seems it could possibly lead to divorce. "Adam's Rib" is the best one.

The big kahuna. The big cheese. The best Hepburn & Tracy pairing. There's no doubt about it-- this just might be the best vintage romantic comedy ever. "Adam's Rib" always succeeds because of two big factors-- it's script, and well, of course, Hepburn & Tracy.

Written by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, the screenplay, which is the star of the show half the time, snaps, crackles, and pops, and leaves us laughing at the oh-so sophisticated humor oozing out. And what's great, is it's still hilarious to this day.

Half the lines, however, could not have worked if not for the cast. I'm not even talking about the two leads. Hepburn & Tracy of course, have what people call "chemistry", and might as well be the definition of it.

But more than anything else we get Holliday pulling the third class grammar lever, and Wayne acting smart-alecky, and that's what shows us just how good this script is. Sure, Wayne's character is annoying as hell, but he has a razor sharp tongue.

See what I mean? "Adam's Rib" has got everything to make a successful romantic comedy. But what makes it just so good, is Hepburn & Tracy. Highly recommended.