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#255 - The Philadelphia Story
George Cukor, 1940
When a wealthy woman is about to remarry, her ex-husband sets about trying to break off the marriage with the help of a journalist.
When it comes to watching a classic film and being underwhelmed, I do wonder if it's due to high expectations going unmet or mere skepticism over whether or not the film genuinely earns its reputation. The Philadelphia Story is unfortunately one of those all-time classics that doesn't do all that much for me - though it's far from the worst example of an acclaimed film not meeting my expectations. It's not like I haven't appreciated other screwball comedies from the same era, either - just that this one does very little for me. Though the considerable star power is a draw - and having Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Katharine Hepburn in the same movie is most definitely a draw - it does seem like they're put to rather dissatisfying use. Hepburn is a wealthy socialite who has divorced her alcoholic husband (Cary Grant) and is remarrying two years after the fact. Grant plans on sabotaging things with the help of an undercover reporter (Jimmy Stewart), which naturally complicates things even further.
In fitting in with my aforementioned problems with expectations, it's a shame that I don't find The Philadelphia Story especially amusing as a comedy. Sure, it's got its fair share of clearly defined characters and they do snipe at each other quite frequently as per the genre's conventions, but none of it really crackles or provokes any kind of spontaneous response. In comparison to something like His Girl Friday, it feels very by-the-numbers. There's also the question of how the film ultimately resolves itself, which is either a horribly naive and problematic way to tie everything into a neat little bundle or actually a searing condemnation of the film's upper-class milieu and the people who are forced to operate within its crushing system of gears and cogs. Even so, that still feels a bit too up to interpretation to really work and the vibe of the rest of the film suggests that the former is the intended interpretation, so I'm sad to say that, despite some decent performances from generally solid actors, The Philadelphia Story otherwise did not feel like it lived up to its reputation. Time will tell if I give it a second chance, though.
George Cukor, 1940
When a wealthy woman is about to remarry, her ex-husband sets about trying to break off the marriage with the help of a journalist.
When it comes to watching a classic film and being underwhelmed, I do wonder if it's due to high expectations going unmet or mere skepticism over whether or not the film genuinely earns its reputation. The Philadelphia Story is unfortunately one of those all-time classics that doesn't do all that much for me - though it's far from the worst example of an acclaimed film not meeting my expectations. It's not like I haven't appreciated other screwball comedies from the same era, either - just that this one does very little for me. Though the considerable star power is a draw - and having Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Katharine Hepburn in the same movie is most definitely a draw - it does seem like they're put to rather dissatisfying use. Hepburn is a wealthy socialite who has divorced her alcoholic husband (Cary Grant) and is remarrying two years after the fact. Grant plans on sabotaging things with the help of an undercover reporter (Jimmy Stewart), which naturally complicates things even further.
In fitting in with my aforementioned problems with expectations, it's a shame that I don't find The Philadelphia Story especially amusing as a comedy. Sure, it's got its fair share of clearly defined characters and they do snipe at each other quite frequently as per the genre's conventions, but none of it really crackles or provokes any kind of spontaneous response. In comparison to something like His Girl Friday, it feels very by-the-numbers. There's also the question of how the film ultimately resolves itself, which is either a horribly naive and problematic way to tie everything into a neat little bundle or actually a searing condemnation of the film's upper-class milieu and the people who are forced to operate within its crushing system of gears and cogs. Even so, that still feels a bit too up to interpretation to really work and the vibe of the rest of the film suggests that the former is the intended interpretation, so I'm sad to say that, despite some decent performances from generally solid actors, The Philadelphia Story otherwise did not feel like it lived up to its reputation. Time will tell if I give it a second chance, though.