Review of The Philadelphia Story (1940) by Blake P — 17 Aug 2013

"The Philadelphia Story" reminds us that a romantic comedy can sizzle, with all of the clichés one expects with the genre, minus sappy dialogue that tries to make the women in the audience swoon. It has all the humor and sass of "His Girl Friday" and the romance desired in a dreamboat of a women's picture. When it comes down to the list of must-see classic films, "The Philadelphia Story" rightfully deserves its spot. It features a superb ensemble (lead by Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart no less) that's flawlessly matched in the writing and directing categories.

For once, the central female figure of the film isn't a melodramatic she-Devil that Bette Davis would play well, nor an airhead sexpot a la Marilyn Monroe. Instead, she is Tracy Lord, a selfish but bitingly conniving woman born into wealth. At first glance, she doesn't appear to be a very nice person, but the more we get to know her character, the more we understand that she's truly intelligent and doesn't need a man to survive. Today, this type of woman can be seen everywhere. But at an era where the wife had to stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the kiddies while the husband brought home the bacon. Tracy is refreshing because she's still vulnerable at times like one would expect, but ultimately knowing and a tad tough-hearted. She's phenomenally portrayed by Hepburn, an actress so ahead of her time that it seems to be based on real life.

It's no surprise that George Cukor directed the film. No other filmmaker of the Hollywood Golden Age truly managed to capture the glamour and sophistication desired by audiences all the while remaining to stay intelligent and not too lightweight. Like Howard Hawks, another pioneer whom he is often referenced to in the same sentence, he could make a good film no matter the genre. For "The Philadelphia Story," Cukor's subtle touch of feminism and a romanticized but still entertaining version of the upper-class suits everything perfectly.

It's hard to know whether or not to call "The Philadelphia Story" a straight-up comedy. It's not like the other world famous Hepburn and Grant pairing, "Bringing Up Baby" which is riotously funny; it more closely resembles a Noel Coward play, in which characters talk with extreme wit and the setting takes place in high society, but not really out to make our stomachs hurt with laughter. But there are some grande moments of hilarity, such as Tracy's little sister's (Virginia Weidler) exaggerated introduction to the reporters in order to get attention, or Tracy and Macaulay's drunk get-together on the eve of the former's wedding.

The supporting cast is so good that you could spend a paragraph praising every member individually. But in the days where less is more, it'd be much too extensive. Grant as usual, charms everyone, always poised and ready with a snarky remark but still there when you need him. Stewart's Oscar-winning performance, which automatically propelled him into the A-list, is by turns very funny and sympathetic. Hussey seems to be the Rosalind Russell of the film, sharp, sarcastic, and always knowing of what she wants. A standout of the film, that never seems to be mentioned, is Weidler, who gives a remarkably tuned comedic performance that actors twice her age would kill for.

"The Philadelphia Story" is so killer at everything it does that it's surprising that a film nearly a century old can be so gosh darn good. Hepburn has never been better.