Review of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) by Barbara O — 07 May 2008

Nah, didn't really like it. artifical (even for a musical), rather boring, overall not really memorable songs and among monroe's best performances?! phhh... would still prefer her in "some like it hot" anytime (simply because the film's so much better and her portrayal of sugar doesn't hurt). it is not only about mm playing a dumb character, it is about her not playing it well. I didn't feel that her lines were coming naturally in any way. I didn't know that russell would sing "diamonds..." too and I find it quite meaningful that nicole kidman used many of her phrasings when she sang it for "moulin rouge" and not monroe's more famous rendition.

Had to watch it for my film class, and yeah, it might be interesting with regards to the male gaze, but apart from that I found it tedious and extremely dated, not to mention its appalling misogyny presenting women as stupid, diamond-mad and stylized objects to be looked at.