9/10
Jack Lemmon in his first film has to face the supreme stupid blonde bombshell, and has to love her
22 June 2020
This is probably both Judy Holliday's and Jack Lemmon's happiest film, or at least one of them. It was Jack Lemmon's first, and George Cukor's problem with him was that he was a little too good and always overdid it, but as such he was ideal for Judy Holliday who was the opposite - always getting in on understatements. Her sense of humour is something unique in American film, always funny especially when she is dead serious, and in all her films you always suspect there is something dark and tragic under all that brilliant sunshine of sparkling wit and good humour, and she did die far too early at only 43. The comedy is one of the best and sunniest ever produced in Hollywood, and the main credit goes to Garson Kanin, who wrote the script. It is actually a satire on the career and advertising business, and the urge to make a name for oneself and be a success by some glorious career is exploited for fun but never in a negative sense. It reminds very much of Carole Lombard's best comedies in the 30s, like the Ben Hecht hilarious satire "Nothing Sacred" - it's the same kind of reckless making fun of how the vanity of society works. George Cukor himself must have thoroughly enjoyed making it, especially as he also could enjoy how well Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon went together.
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