Review of How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) by Brett C — 05 Aug 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

1953 was certainly Marilyn Monroe's year, as she was featured in 3 films, with each one portraying a character with similar physical attributes from one another, but the personalities are far from being alike. Unfortunately only one of those films left me entertained, with the other two lacking any substance, originality and energy in its writing; How to Marry a Millionaire sadly falls under the latter.

This film essentially takes the values of Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; a person motivated to be married or involved with a man who is wealthy and not taking any consideration of their physical attributes and personality, and divided it up here into three separate protagonists. I didn't mind the recycle of the concept but I do expect the film to deliver an interesting and entertaining tale, even if it strives to be unique in that department either. The film lacks the creative comedic sequences that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was able to deliver and the protagonists in this film aren't fresh enough for me to forgive the film's other shortcomings. I did however have fun with Monroe's character as her ridiculous feelings towards her eye-glasses and blindness places her in some slapstick and ridiculous moments that caught me by surprise and it also allowed her to stand out from her co-stars, who seem to be playing their roles here without any genuine effort. Once the film hits its third act, things certainly become more interesting but not by a lot. I had fun with the sudden turn of events and the slight development in its characters, which contradicts itself during the film's final 5 minutes, kind of a bummer but at least I saw it coming from a mile away.

I didn't expect this to be perfect, or even a stronger film than Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but this was just a lazy production, aside from a few slightly more than average aspects that prevent this film from being entirely forgettable and a waste of time. I suggest only watch this film if one has deep affection for the careers of the film's three leading actresses.