Well, Nobody's Perfect!

#22—Some Like It Hot

Though her death is blanketed in mystery, Marilyn Monroe is viewed by the public as a beacon of light and sexuality when she was a live. Not really known for her acting ability, Monroe still drew audiences in to the theatres during the late 40s through the 50s. Cast in one of director Billy Wilder’s films before (The Seven Year Itch), Monroe teams up with Tony Curtis (Spartacus) and Jack Lemmon (The Apartment) in AFI’s #22 film, Some Like It Hot.

Jazz musicians Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon) are struggling to make ends meet. So when the Chicago club they are playing in gets raided, Joe and Jerry try to find new work. Their luck gets worse when they witness a mob hit and barely escape. Forced to go into hiding, Joe and Jerry try to take a job with all female band headed to Miami.  To convince the band to accept them, the musicians dress in drag and change their names to “Josephine” and “Daphne”. Things get a little more complicated for the guys when they both meet Sugar (Monroe), a gorgeous lead singer of the traveling band. Joe and Jerry must keep their secret from the band so that they can elude certain death that looms for them in Chicago.

This film has jazz music, cross-dressing, and of course the Mafia. What more could you ever want out of a comedy? Considered by AFI to be the best comedy in the past 100 years, Some Like It Hot has great comedic timing and a wonderful script. The three leads give incredible performances and Wilder cements his legacy as one of the greatest directors of all time.

Tony Curtis essentially plays three roles in this film; Joe, Josephine, and Junior. Curtis is able to flawlessly enter and exit out of each character during the entirety of the film. What is also amazing, besides the Cary Grant accent, is that Curtis gives each one of his characters their own personality and mannerisms. Lemmon’s performance of Jerry is outstanding, but I felt that it was one that he had done before. Lemmon was always really good at being the animated ‘sidekick’ on his early films, so this just felt like every other role he had before this. I am definitely not saying that he wasn’t good or entertaining in this film, just not anything different. Monroe on the other hand, showed a lot more range in this film I thought. Yes I agree that she is still the immature blonde, but in Some Like It Hot you are able to see the full range of emotions that Sugar goes through in the film.

Like Steven Spielberg of today, Billy Wilder directed a wide range of films. Everything from film noir to dramas, Wilder was better suited for comedies. The director has great comedic vision and was able to push the boundaries without actually going over. The sexual suggestions and even the cross-dressing that are in this film would have caused an ‘R’ rating by MPAA if there had been that high of rating in 1959. Wilder also did a magnificent job blocking the actors within a scene. By getting the most out of his actors (comedic-wise), Wilder was able to get as much ‘funny’ as he could into a shot without making it look crowded.

Some Like It Hot is wonderful comedy filled with great performances and wonderful directing. Even though this movie was made in 1959, I still find it funnier than most of the more recent movies that are too in your face raunchy. The innuendos are more potent than being just plan nasty.

The Verdict: Very Much Worth Your Time.