Released 1938
American
black and white
102 minute running time
Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant
(watched via TCM - it was either Katharine Hepburn Day or Cary Grant Day the first time I saw this)
The Plot Basically Breaks Down Like This:
Boy is set to marry Girl. Boy meets other Girl. Other Girl causes havoc for Boy. Boy tries to escape Other Girl but continually finds himself thrown in her destructive path. Other Girl takes a fancy to Boy. Other Girl gets a pet leopard who also takes a fancy to Boy. Boy is made to look ever more ridiculous because of Other Girl and leopard. Eventually original Girl leaves Boy high and dry. Other Girl moves in and winds up with Boy. Its sweet, its funny, its intelligent, its ridiculous. It is all of the elements that make of a great romantic comedy, only about 100x better because Boy is Cary Grant and Other Girl is Katharine Hepburn.
My Thoughts Basically Break Down Like This:
Have I waxed on poetically about my great love of Katharine Hepburn yet? It is one of my most very favorite things to do, because she is one of my most very favorite actresses of all time. Smart and funny and unique and sassy and sultry when she damn well wants to be and adorable every other time and just plain astounding when the mood hits her, Katharine Hepburn just about owns every film she appears in. And paired up with Cary Grant, handsome, debonair, downright cheeky Cary Grant, she becomes the captivating but fun kind of woman I spend most of my time wishing I could be. How else could she manage to pull off a film that seems - in theory - as silly as this one does? She falls on things, she breaks things, she tears things, she causes panic and chaos wherever she goes, and she STILL manages to get the guy and have her happy ending. She is a walking disaster just waiting to happen and yet you love her every moment she spends on screen and miss her the moment the camera focuses on someone else. And just like William Powell and Myrna Loy, the onscreen chemistry she has with Cary Grant is vivid and energetic and so perfect it almost makes you cry (just wait until I review The Philadelphia Story, I'll be gushing til I've gushed all of my brain cells out). There are other things to love about this particular film, of course. The writing is excellent, the characters are brilliant, and the leopard has a knack for physical comedy. But its Katharine and Cary that really shine here. They take a film that would be just a good all-around comedy and elevate it to something I would call excellent.
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