Good, But Not One of the Greatest Comedies of All Time

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2006)

My wife loves this movie, mostly on the strength of Jack Lemmon's wild performance, but I have to admit that I've remained resistant to its charms. I don't DISLIKE it, but I always have trouble understanding how it pops up again and again on various lists as one of the funniest comedies ever produced.
Of course, much of my lack of appreciation probably has to do with the fact that cross dressing comedies have become a dime a dozen now, but were virtually unheard of at the time this film was released. And even more notable, Jack Lemmon's character actually kind of LIKES pretending to be a woman, so this film manages to work in some fairly ahead of its time gender politics into its mostly escapist comedy trappings. But the film is hampered by too much Marilyn Monroe, who was just a terrible actress, like it or not. The woman could not act, and no amount of sex appeal (though I think she had very little of that as well) could change that fact.
Still, my reservations aside, the strengths in this film mostly outweigh the weaknesses. Billy Wilder delivers a sharp script even if his direction seems to be at cross purposes with the movie's comedic elements, and Tony Curtis gives a hilarious and dead-on impersonation of Cary Grant that rivals Lemmon's manic antics in its pricelessness.
Grade: B+