Review of His Girl Friday (1940) by Joshua B — 30 Jul 2011
What works best about His Girl Friday is the chemistry between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, a truly memorable screen couple. The near-sociopathic lengths he goes to in order to win her back and ruin her impending marriage to Ralph Bellamy (he's no Cary Grant) would be offensive if not for the viewer immediately buying the notion that these two must end up together.
It's comedy of (re)marriage at its finest. The whip smart and lightning fast banter between the two (and all the other characters, for that matter) are the highlight of the film, a film that as a whole is a very smart commentary on media sensationalism in an era before Twitter and TMZ.
It's not as laugh-out-loud funny as other Hawks films such as Bringing Up Baby, partly due to a couple of jarring shifts in tone where the film goes far darker than it should. But it's top notch Hawks nonetheless.
This review of His Girl Friday (1940) was written by Joshua B on 30 Jul 2011.
His Girl Friday has generally received very positive reviews.
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