Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
3/4
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, Charles Coburn
Not Rated (contains nothing offensive)
There's nothing heavy about "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." It's a lighter than light screwball comedy/musical with madcap hijinks, wordplay and some extravagantly staged songs. It's by no means perfect, but it is fun.
Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Russell) are two lounge singers and best friends. Lorelei is engaged to be married to rich dork Gus Esmond, Jr. (Noonan), while Dorothy is lovelorn and single. Unfortunately, Gus's controlling father doesn't approve of the relationship, so he sends Lorelei and Dorothy to France to wait for him. Complications ensue: Lorelei, who will fall for anyone who so even mentions the word "diamond," gets into some compromising positions with Piggy Beekman (Coburn), a diamond mine owner, and Dorothy gets the hots for the dashing Ernie Malone (Reid), who happens to be tailing Lorelei to see if she's as faithful as she claims.
Like I said, this isn't a serious movie. It's light and airy, and occasionally quite funny (the scene where Lorelei gets stuck in a porthole is a case in point).
It helps the the acting is solid across the board. Marilyn Monroe has a few hammy moments early on, but gets better as the film goes on. Lorelei is the "dumb blonde" stereotype that Monroe made famous, but she's not as dumb as everyone thinks. Jane Russell (who got along well with Monroe and was the only one who could coax her out of her trailer before the days shoot) is very funny as the sharp-tongued Dorothy, who will go after any man who has got good looks (much to her delight, there's a male Olympic team on board). Elliott Reed is perfect in a role that might well have been played by Cary Grant. Charles Coburn is amusing as Piggy, who has become instantly smitten with Lorelei (who wraps him around her finger). The weak link is Tommy Noonan; he's too dorky for his relationship with Lorelei to be believable. Fortunately, he's only onscreen for a few scenes at the beginning and the end.
The film was directed by Howard Hawks, who is one of the most famous directors from Hollywood's Golden Age. Despite only getting one Oscar nomination (Best Director for "Sergeant York," although he did receive an Honorary Award in 1975), Hawks was behind a number of Hollywood classics such as "Bringing Up Baby" (which was a flop when it was released but is now considered a classic), "His Girl Friday," "The Big Sleep," "Red River," and "Rio Bravo." The film, based on a Broadway musical, is nicely staged, and Hawks keeps things moving. The comical sound effects Hawks uses (such as the tweeting birds when Gus is stunned by a kiss from Lorelei) are unnecessary, however. They should have stayed in the cartoons.
That said, this is an enjoyable trip.
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, Charles Coburn
Not Rated (contains nothing offensive)
There's nothing heavy about "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." It's a lighter than light screwball comedy/musical with madcap hijinks, wordplay and some extravagantly staged songs. It's by no means perfect, but it is fun.
Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Russell) are two lounge singers and best friends. Lorelei is engaged to be married to rich dork Gus Esmond, Jr. (Noonan), while Dorothy is lovelorn and single. Unfortunately, Gus's controlling father doesn't approve of the relationship, so he sends Lorelei and Dorothy to France to wait for him. Complications ensue: Lorelei, who will fall for anyone who so even mentions the word "diamond," gets into some compromising positions with Piggy Beekman (Coburn), a diamond mine owner, and Dorothy gets the hots for the dashing Ernie Malone (Reid), who happens to be tailing Lorelei to see if she's as faithful as she claims.
Like I said, this isn't a serious movie. It's light and airy, and occasionally quite funny (the scene where Lorelei gets stuck in a porthole is a case in point).
It helps the the acting is solid across the board. Marilyn Monroe has a few hammy moments early on, but gets better as the film goes on. Lorelei is the "dumb blonde" stereotype that Monroe made famous, but she's not as dumb as everyone thinks. Jane Russell (who got along well with Monroe and was the only one who could coax her out of her trailer before the days shoot) is very funny as the sharp-tongued Dorothy, who will go after any man who has got good looks (much to her delight, there's a male Olympic team on board). Elliott Reed is perfect in a role that might well have been played by Cary Grant. Charles Coburn is amusing as Piggy, who has become instantly smitten with Lorelei (who wraps him around her finger). The weak link is Tommy Noonan; he's too dorky for his relationship with Lorelei to be believable. Fortunately, he's only onscreen for a few scenes at the beginning and the end.
The film was directed by Howard Hawks, who is one of the most famous directors from Hollywood's Golden Age. Despite only getting one Oscar nomination (Best Director for "Sergeant York," although he did receive an Honorary Award in 1975), Hawks was behind a number of Hollywood classics such as "Bringing Up Baby" (which was a flop when it was released but is now considered a classic), "His Girl Friday," "The Big Sleep," "Red River," and "Rio Bravo." The film, based on a Broadway musical, is nicely staged, and Hawks keeps things moving. The comical sound effects Hawks uses (such as the tweeting birds when Gus is stunned by a kiss from Lorelei) are unnecessary, however. They should have stayed in the cartoons.
That said, this is an enjoyable trip.
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