Review of Some Like It Hot (1959) by Sophie . — 11 Oct 2010

I saw this one in my film studies class Freshman year, and I was instantly impressed. Even though I didn't really know any of the talent attached to it at the time (except for Marilyn Monroe), I still found it to be one of the most entertaining films I'd seen up to that point. Looking back at it now, it's still just as funny and entertaining, if not moreso.

The film stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two struggling musicians living in Chicago, Illinois during Prohibition. After witnessing a violent gang-related murder, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon, respectively) must flee for their lives for fear of being killed by the lead gangster, 'Spats' Columbo (George Raft). To hide from Spats, they decide to leave town and disguise themselves as women to join an all-girl band on a train headed for Florida. Both Joe and Jerry (now Josephine and Geraldine) become infatuated with the band's sexy blonde vocalist, "Sugar Kane" (Marilyn Monroe). Things progress as expected from here, with both men clamoring for the affection of Sugar while still trying to keep their identities secret.

The film really takes off when they get to Florida and "Josephine" takes on the whole new identity of a millionaire (who happens to be the heir to the Shell Oil company) in an attempt to impress Sugar. "Geraldine" (now under the name of Daphne, for reasons that make sense only in Jerry's mind) also has his/her hands full with an actual millionaire that's vying for his/her affection (played wonderfully by Joe E. Brown).

I don't think that it's innapropriate to say that this is Billy Wilder's most hilarious film, if not his best. Tony Curtis is wonderfully hilarious as Jerry, and Jack Lemmon also manages to pull his own comedic weight without trying to upstage Curtis. Nearly every comedic moment works, some of my favorites being the exchange between Lemmon and Monroe on the train while he's helping her hide alcohol and the final sentence of the film (which I still believe to be the funniest single line in all of cinema).

This film also goes a long way to show Tony Curtis' outstanding acting ability. He effortlessly balances three very different "characters" and pulls them all off hilariously (and with a very funny Cary Grant impression).

But by far my favorite performance in the film is that of Joe E. Brown as Osgood Fielding III, the millionaire that is after Geraldine's affection. Throughout the entire film he's just the type of guy that you can't help but like. He's sincere about his feelings, but goes about expressing them in such a cheery way that you can't help but support him in his pursuit of poor ol' Jerry. This is a man who will accept the person he loves no matter what their faults are, as evident by the last line of the film that I shall not spoil for you.

If there is one element that I didn't like about this film, it's Marilyn Monroe's performance. Frankly, it's very flat and boring. She functions as little more than an object to fuel the main character's desires (and as a bit of eye candy for the audience as well). But, her performance aside, this is still a very good comedy and definately worth checking out!