Some Like It Hot

     Movies, much like music at the time, was in a strange place in the 1950s.  Lucy was pregnant on tv, but couldn't say the word or how she got that way.  The Hollywood studio system had changed- most of the great stars of the 30s and 40s had been let go, and a barrage of cream cheese stars had replaced the legends.  Sex became very much repressed in this decade, and Debbie Reynolds, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, and many other innocent and wholesome faces saturated theaters.  Even the divine Doris Day was virginal and honorable.  Now sex was certainly very much alive in the 50s, and was most definitely expressed during this strange but fascinating decade.  You cannot listen to "Harlem Nocturne" and not think of sex.  And thank God for directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder- directors who weren't afraid to push boundaries and test the strict moral code of the time.  It's no wonder Marilyn Monroe exploded in the mid 50s.  Which brings us to the movie.

     Here's the plot.  Two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon), accidently witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  They flee for their lives, in hot pursuit by the mob.  Desperate, the two men disguise themselves in female drag, rename themselves Josephine and Daphne, and join an all-girl traveling band on a train to sunny Florida. Which in turns only starts more complications as the two men, who are heterosexual, find themselves surrounded by beautiful women.  One of whom is sensuous Sugar Kane, played to delicious and luminous perfection by the incomparable Marilyn Monroe.  The men enjoy being around the girls, but get frustrated quickly.  Joe ends up falling for Sugar, and goes out of drag to pretend he's a mysterious millionaire in order to woo her.  Meanwhile, Daphne finds herself seduced by aging millionaire Osgood Fielding III, played by the amazing Joe E. Brown.

     The acting is truly superb.  Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe and top notch here, and lead a smashing cast.  Brilliantly directed by Billy Wilder, "Some Like It Hot" is exactly how a comedy should be done.  This is possibly Jack Lemmon's most hilarious performance- he is truly spectacular here.  He's responsible for some of the films funniest moments. Tony Curtis almost outdoes Lemmon here with his infamous Cary Grant impersonation, it's just that fantastic.  And of course Joe E. Brown manages to not only give a wonderfully funny performance, but manages to steal the show in the process.  His immortal closing line of the film is the stuff of legend- this is exactly why I love the movies.

        "Some Like It Hot" is the best comedy of all time.  No doubt about it.  And The American Film Institute agrees as they named "Some Like It Hot" the #1 comedy of all time.  It's staggering to think how this movie got past the censors.  Mind-blowing, actually.  Quite risque for its time, it's chock full of surprisingly suggestive content and smart double-entrendres.  It simply needs to be seen.  No synopsis of this classic comedy would do it any justice whatsoever.  This is a timeless comedy.  It's not dated one bit, really.  I honestly believe anybody today could see the hilarity of "Some Like It Hot" and respond to it.  It's a madcap and uproarious farce that never fails to amaze.  Everything was just done so right here.

     This is one of the greatest achievements ever put on film- I have yet to see one smart comedy anywhere near the level of intelligence and wit that "Some Like It Hot" has in spades.  It's absolutely true- they don't make movies like this anymore.  Anybody could have done the hair gel scene with Cameron Diaz.  Yet I can't imagine anybody else bringing these wonderful characters to life.  You have the one and only Marilyn, singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and the mind-bending, gender-busting performances of Curtis and Lemmon- what more could you ask for in a movie?  It's legendary in every aspect, and worthy of so much more admiration and respect.  If you haven't seen this movie, rush out now and rent it, buy it, whatever.  This is the funniest movie of all time.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Yes.