Review of My Man Godfrey (1936) by Roland S — 08 Jan 2010

Recently I have been going through a lot of thirties comedies and the one thing that I tend to notice about them is that they don't age as well as some other genres. This is one of the exceptions to this rule.

The story revolves around a rich depression era family who's daughter has taken in a supposed homeless man in order to serve as the family's butler. The butler (Powell) has to deal with a host of nutjobs including his obsessive crush, the sniviling older sister, a whacked out mother, and the's mother's 'protege' with obvious alterior motives. But there is more to Godfrey then we intially know.

Dispite the fact that it is essentially a story about the class divide between the rich and poor during the depression era, it is becoming a lot like this in modern culture. The characters who at the time may have seemed over-the-top at the time now serve as mirrors of reality TV stars now. In a wierd way it is almost like a premontion despite the fact that it is a depression era comedy. Some of the core messages ring true today just as well as they did in the thirties.

The only letdown in this movie was the ending, which to me seemed changed (perhaps to provide a more traditional upbeat ending that would please audiences). It seemed as if the movie was set up with a darker ending in mind.

All in all My Man Godfrey is a well written, engagingly acted screwball comedy. What it lacks in an interesting ending, it makes up with lasting relatable themes.