Gender-bending fun!..

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2006)

...But there's more to 'Some Like It Hot' than just it's cross-dressing element. This is a terrific comedy farce that may just well be the funniest film ever made (AFI certainly agrees with me, naming 'Some Like It Hot' as the No.1 comedy of all time in their list).
So many great gags and an unbelievably witty script filled with double entendres are just some of the reasons to watch this. Lemmon gives maybe his greatest comedy performance, in the deliciously over-the-top role of Jerry/Daphne. Lemmon's completely uninhibited performance in drag works well with Tony Curtis' more self-conscious Joe/Josephine. Today the modern viewer sees this film with many homosexual overtones, but the film-makers made a point to stress the pair's heterosexuality in this film. They are given a very good reason to be in drag- they are on the run from mob bosses after witnessing the St Valentine's Day massacre. Disguised as female musicians, they join an all-girls band and meet boozy singer Sugar (Monroe).
Without Monroe's performance (difficultly elicited from her), this film would not be half the classic it is today. Her presence illuminated every film she was in, and her dumb-blonde demeanor belied a great acting talent. Marilyn certainly is great here as the floozy Sugar Kane who is lonely and on the look for love.
Joe E. Brown has a lot of fun with his role as a rich millionaire who falls in love Lemmon's Daphne. He also gets the best line of the film. George Raft appears to be sending himself and his suspected gangster connections up in his role as Spats Colombo, the mob boss who wants Lemmon and Curtis fixed up.
Very sexy dialogue, costumes from Monroe (pretty much see-through!) and the gender-bending turns from the boys combine for great fun, but some forget how Wilder achieved the great atmosphere of this film. He made a conscious decision to shoot in black-and-white not only to lessen the impact of two males playing women, but for authenticity. This is set in 1929, and Wilder wanted the gritty feel of the Prohibition-era. One is reminded of Hawks' 'Scarface' in a number of scenes (this could also be due to the presence of Raft), and there are many gags referring to the historical period. Watch the mentions of Valentino, Pickford, Fairbanks and Wall Street and you'll see what I mean.
Loads and loads of FUN! 10/10.