Review of Woman of the Year (1942) by Ryan V — 05 Jul 2014

Spencer Tracy portrays a blue collar sportswriter who falls in love with an intelligent, ambitious, and overachieving foreign correspondent (Katherine Hepburn). Their differences seem charming in the early days of their marriage, but their love is tested by jealousy, resentment, insensitivity, and an aversion to compromise.

Much of this film's dialogue is informed by the mechanics of Depression-era screwball comedies. There's a lot of stuff here that comes off as dated or naive, but there's also some aspects of this movie that unexpectedly anticipate Second Wave Feminism.

I don't think that Woman Of The Year has aged as gracefully as some other films from this period, but Tracy and Hepburn have an undeniable connection that gives little doubt as to why producers insisted upon reteaming them again and again.