Review of The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) by Joe M — 12 Jun 2007

The thing I like most about Preston Sturges is how well his films hold up today. The jokes feel fresh and are a bit edgy even by today's standards. With the exception of two or three belly laughs, (notably, "This is the best thing that's happened to this state since we stole it from the Indians") the rest of the movie fell flat.

I understand a filmmaker's limitations when working under the Hays code and the risk he took on a script about the drunken misadventures of a girl named Kockenlocker. Unfortunately, what packed a bigger punch in the mid-40s today only serves an interest in its historical context, not as a narrative.

A film considered one of his best, I was sure this was one of his earlier works where he had yet to hone his craft to the wry Sturges perfection. Imagine my surprise after learning this was actually one of his later films.

Now I realize traditionalists and film purists would have my head for saying so, and I admittedly may be saying this simply because I saw both films recently, but for a film with a rather similar plot, Knocked Up handled the material with more compassion, interest and humor.

To quote Sturges himself, "You can't go around the theatres handing out cards saying, 'It isn't my fault'. You go onto the next one.".

I'm glad he did.