Review of Some Like It Hot (1959) by Nick O — 04 Sep 2013

Some like it hot, but most like it funny, and director Billy Wilder's vivacious screwball comedy has plenty of laughs on tap. For one thing Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are made to craft female alter egos of themselves and high-tail it to Florida after catching wind of a massacre organized by gangsters. It's on the expressway there the both of their jaws drop at the sight of gorgeous singer Sugar Kane, and Curtis's Joe and Lemmon's Jerry decide to pose as a pair of incoming crooners (and not ice cream brand owners, as their monotonous names would lead you to believe) in Sugar's traveling falsetto.

The heartwarming traits of "Some Like It Hot" are somehow able to tower above the dark atmosphere at hand without ever bursting its bubble and ruining the fun. Curtis and Lemmon seem like old hands at their none-too-convincing skewer, which is the sort of character dedication that gives "Some Like It Hot" a giddy perplexity. There's a scene early on when Joe and Jerry (or "Josephine" and "Daphne", respectively) are meeting Sugar for the first time, and she admits that, well, she isn't exactly too bright. That'd be an easy gag to push, huh? However Wilder buckles on Joe, Jerry and Sugar's intellectual goings-on to hone an arching moral which can only be made clear midst continuous giggles: keep a straight face, 'cause hey, buddy, it's the only one you got.