Review of The Philadelphia Story (1940) by Garrett M — 22 Mar 2010

Despite a stellar cast of my favourite actors I was utterly disappointed by the movie. I expected a screwball comedy of historic proportions but got a mediocre stage play adaption lacking the wit and density these types of movies usually feature. Like the rat pack movies, I sometimes felt that the producers just threw their best peas in the pod and plastered some comealong play on it to cash in on the golden hollywood craze. Hepburn plays pretty much herself, the sharptongued uebersexual non-lesbian lesbian. Jimmy Stewart is the silver lining behind the cloud but the fact that his slapstick moments are the movie's merits speaks volumes. Cary Grant's character lacks the furiosity and cynicism which usually brings out his talents. All in all, despite enjoying to see the three on the screen and the general feel of classic Hollywood that I like so much, as a movie, I cannot rate this high only for nostalgic or geekdom reasons. You should probably watch it to form your own opinion, but other reasons than to cross it off your list escape me.

Henrik.