Everybody's perfect here.

Rating: 10/10 (18 April 2019)

One question, which can be very simply answered, is why this production is so astronomically better than the slightly disappointing lesser Wilder flicks I've been watching recently.
The one-word answer is: pace. This film is on the run all the way through, from the Valentine's Day Massacre, to Marilyn biking down the steps to the jetty, and it never lets up. It is gripping all the way, with not a single longueur. But there are other reasons. It's brilliantly scripted, and the dialogue is matchless. The gender-bending is wholly undisturbing and somehow actually tasteful. Curtis as a shady Cary Grant is unforgettable. Sweet Sue and Beanstalk are made for each other. Another reviewer points out that George Raft wasn't told he was in a comedy. Joe E Brown's one-note is pitch-perfect. But the real reason for this film's perfection is Marilyn. Her neuroses are legendary, her unreliability iconic. She kissed like Hitler, and needed 30 takes for every line. These, and her visibly stunning starriness, must have spurred the rest of the cast and the director on to reaching even greater heights. Wilder did make some great films, but this is the hottest. For all to like.