Review of Some Like It Hot (1939) by Bheema D — 13 Apr 2014

If the merits of Some Like It Hot were only the brilliantly ridiculous premise and the oddball chemistry between Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, I would still consider this one of the funniest films of the 1950s. The story may sound familiar now -- two musicians, Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon), are in desperate need for cash and a change in scenery (in this case, an escape from Chicago due to them witnessing a mob murder). Circumstances lead to them becoming Josephine and Daphne for an all-girl band in Miami, Florida. There by the coast, Joe switches between female saxophone player and male yacht-owning millionaire, a new guise used to flirt with one of the band members, played by Marilyn Monroe. Meanwhile, Jerry has inadvertently wooed actual millionaire Osgood Fielding, played by Joe E. Brown. Throughout the two hours of running time, the story escalates into a chaotic, yet focused series of off-the-wall, sometimes sensual, shenanigans.

Curtis and Lemmon are hilarious. Thank the writer, the actors, whomever you want, but the fascinating aspect about the jokes is that they seem to promote a most respectful attitude towards women, even the foolish ones (i.e., Marilyn Monroe). Take the first interaction between Jerry/Daphne (let's say Lemmon, to avoid confusion) and Fielding. Fielding is desperate to charm the hard-to-get Lemmon, but Lemmon, in his/her mind, is thinking, "No, no. Absolutely not. I am not interested. Go away." Soon after that, Fielding pinches Lemmon's butt off-camera. Looking back at the incident, Lemmon tells Curtis that he cannot believe the nerve of a guy to do something like that, and would much rather be the chaser than the chased. Sure, Lemmon is not actually female, but Billy Wilder made a smart step in telling jokes that objectify women from the female perspective.

Slapstick and irony are scarce. The core of the jokes is intensity and awkwardness due to wacky circumstances, found in the witty dialogue. I find that the charm of Some Like It Hot has surprisingly held up well to this day. If you've seen your fair share of drag comedies before this, you may initially yawn at the appearance of Curtis and Lemmon in drag, but the determination in both characters during every scene is so strong and honest that I guarantee that you will laugh.