Review of The Apartment (1960) by Hugh J — 21 Sep 2008
They shouldn't have labeled this as a comedy. There are funny moments and some great lines courtesy of the two leads but this shit is more drama than it is comedy. I still liked it, either way, though.
I completely loved Shirley MacLaine's character and she delivers my favourite line in the film. Her "unlucky in love" schtick and blank, almost expressionless delivery was perfect and made her extremely likable.
Jack Lemmon was also good as the walking doormat for most of the flick. I didn't really like the whole aspect of the film where he just sits back and lets his neighbours think the worst of him but he still had some good moments and was decent enough to root for.
Fred MacMurray was awesome as the asshole boss of the two leads. When he pulled out the hundred dollar bill to give to Shirley MacLaine as a Christmas present, I was fucking appalled. It was the perfect moment to show us just how much of an asshole he really is and her reaction to it is genius.
All in all, the flick's a bit drawn out and didn't really need to be two hours but I enjoyed it. The whole schtick with the doctor's wife was kind of unnecessary and so was the part with Shirley MacLaine's brother-in-law.
I'm glad they didn't take that storyline any further than the one or two scenes he was in but it still seemed like a detour to the eventual ending, which was great.
This review of The Apartment (1960) was written by Hugh J on 21 Sep 2008.
The Apartment has generally received very positive reviews.
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