Review of The Awful Truth (1937) by Tina S — 05 Feb 2010
A delightful screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. If you're tired of crude, gross-out, shock humor, the classic screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's might be your fix. I fell in love with this sub-genre of comedy after watching "His Girl Friday" years ago.
The comedic timing and chemistry between Grant and Dunne is superb, and I'm afraid people at the coffee shop thought I was crazy laughing out loud while watching this on my laptop. It definitely stands the test of time, not so much in the situations they find themselves in, but in the reactions of Grant and Dunne to those situations.
I found the writing to be wildly entertaining, though as is true with many classics, some of the cultural references are lost on me. Though one character Dan (played by Ralph Bellamy), an heir to an oil fortune who still lives with his mother, has somehow become even more pathetic with the passing years. This makes the film even more entertaining. The character arcs of Dunne and Grant are nicely drawn, and it really drew me in to watch them transform as the pressures of finding love drives each to ever more hilarious actions.
Both The Awful Truth and His Girl Friday are available on Netflix Instant. A nice double feature!
This review of The Awful Truth (1937) was written by Tina S on 05 Feb 2010.
The Awful Truth has generally received very positive reviews.
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