Billy Wilder shows his range, and proves again his writing chops

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2013)

A comedy about cross-dressing is a surprising choice of subject matter for Billy Wilder, who is best known for his film noir morality tales. But his knack for multi-layered dialogue and sardonic humor work just as well here as in his more serious films. The premise of "Some Like it Hot" is absurd, and if there were no genuine laughs then the behavior of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon's characters might easily come across as obnoxious and offensive. But there are laughs, and they come so rapidly and so often at the expense of the lead characters that these pitfalls are averted. Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe are so well cast that they are effectively playing themselves.