Some Like It Hot (1959)

Entertaining Even To This Day!

This movie is still entertaining today even though much of the humour has eroded over the years although it's easy to see why this film would have been a side-splitting laugh fest when it was first released. Today, films about men in drag don't evoke as much humour as when it was first done to such blatant use in this film. I remember when I first watched "Tootsie" when it was first released that I thought it was hilarious too until I watched it again recently and then realised that most of the humour doesn't age all that well. That said, this film is still entertaining although to call it hilarious for today's audiences would be a gross exaggeration; however to call this a light-hearted, entertaining and funny film would be much more accurate.

Jack Lemmon is very deserving of his Best Actor Oscar nomination as he is excellent here and so is Tony Curtis who is great in both his drag and rich man imposter roles. Marilyn Monroe is great in her usual seductive and comedic role although I still think she was better in "The Seven Year Itch" and she certainly put on quite a bit of weight here since that film a few years earlier too.

Just like in "From Here To Eternity" set in Hawaii I think it a great waste that a film set in a place as beautiful as Florida was shot in black and white and hence failing to take advantage of the inherent beauty of the setting. I understand the intention of director Wilder to play down the garishness of the drag make-up but I think if anything that to shoot this film in colour would not only improve the setting aesthetically but it would also make it a lot more humourous and outrageous.

The dvd hasn't been restored though and so the picture quality is poor with the dreaded black circles appearing near the top right hand corner from time to time. The sound quality is good but not great and I hope they release a better quality restored picture quality on Blu-ray.

Funny, lighthearted entertainment that ages pretty well although you should probably get the better, restored version.

Recommended. May 24, 2008

Marilyn, Tony, & Jack at their best!

How could this film be less than hilarious! The timeless comedic devices of cross-dressing, confusion, and sex make this comedy a classic!

Marilyn is superb (although all the filming troubles are well known now, you cannot detect them in the final product), Tony Curtis is just great, but no one touches Jack Lemmon's portrayal of "Daphne."

Laugh out loud funny! I highly recommend it to everyone! May 13, 2008

HILARIOUS

Only one word can describe this film: HILARIOUS! I loved it from start to finish. It's one of those few movies you could watch again and again and still find funny. A true classic. April 5, 2008

Classic Comedy

MM is so hot! Worth watching again and again as years go by. Great cast and story. April 5, 2008

...and nobody's perfect

You probably know the plot already- during the St. Valentines Day massacre of 1929, two traveling musicians are inadvertent witnesses to the shooting. To avoid being discovered-and massacred themselves, they dress up as women and join an all-female band on its way to Florida. Tony Curtis' character(Joe) is looking forward to it, so that he can spend more time with one of the musicians while Jack Lemon's character (Jerry)is horrified to find himself fighting off the advances of a rich admirer who's lured by his feminine charms.

This was a ground-breaking movie in its depiction of gender-swapping and cross-dressing without any disapproval. The famous last scene, in which Jack Lemon admits to his suitor (the wonderfully antic Joe E. Brown) that he's really a man and Brown replies "Well, nobody's perfect." was just as funny in 1959 as it is today and a great deal more outrageous. In a way, it's just as outrageous today because it tells the story without a wink, a leer or a lecture. It's hard to imagine a modern director resisting the temptation.
The picture quality is great, Marilyn Monroe is too good to be true, but the extras aren't worth your time. No matter, this is rewatchable forever.

Lynn Hoffman, author of the perfectly perfect bang BANG: A Novel and New Short Course in Wine,The March 31, 2008

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