Gideon58's Reviews

Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes, the 2017 docudrama that revolves around the people and events that led to the historical tennis match between the number one women's player of the 1970's Billie Jean King and former tennis great renowned sexist loudmouth Bobby Riggs provides some entertainment value, but suffers due to a preachy screenplay and an air of "who cares" that surrounds everything being presented.

The film opens in 1972 when Billie Jean King, fresh off winning the world's championship, learns that the Women's Tennis Association is planning a tournament where the male participants are being paid eight times more than the female players. This motivates King, Rosie Casals, and several other women tennis pros to walk and form their own association with financial backing from the Virginia Slims cigarette company.

Bobby Riggs' best days as a player are over and he has now become a professional gambler/hustler who has no problem telling anyone who will listen that women belong in the kitchen and the bedroom, but not on a tennis court. His life has been reduced to gamblers' anonymous meetings and half-heartedley working to keeping his wife from leaving him since she is his meal ticket. Bobby approaches King about an exhibition match but rescinds the offer when Margaret Court usurps Billie as #1, so Bobby offers the match to Court who accepts. Bobby wins $35000 when he actually beats Court and then offers to play King on ABC television for $100,000.

For those too young to remember this event, the match between King and Riggs garnered OJ-like publicity and became a major platform for the Women's Liberation movement that flourished during the 70's, a movement where women were demanding equal treatment to men in all forms of life. The world was all about men and women being treated equal at this time and Simon Beaufoy's preachy screenplay drives this home with a sledgehammer which is why I felt like everything here was dated and unimportant. I can't even remember the last time I even heard the phrase "Women's Lib", but it is the underlying theme of the historic events presented here and as important as they are, for a 2017 movie, it grows tiresome.

I do think it is important that young women of today become acquainted with the events that happened here because most of them have no idea how what happened between King and Riggs affected the campaign for women's rights and the lives they have now.

The film must be credited for solid attention to period detail...I was impressed with the editing of Natalie Morales' Rosie Casals into actual footage of Howard Cosell's actual commentary on the match. The story becomes simplistic and melodramatic as it progresses where all the women become saints and all men become sexist pigs. I also suspect that Billie Jean's sexual encounter with a female hairdresser might have been glossed over a bit to make the story more digestible.

Emma Stone works very hard at being a convincing Billie Jean King, but I found her a little too girly for the role and found it a disappointing follow-up to her Oscar-winning performance in La La Land. Steve Carell was absolute perfection as Bobby Riggs though and I liked Morales as Rosie Casals. I also have to mention a classy turn by Elisabeth Shue as Bobby's wife. The film has an authentic 70's feel to it, but these events are a little dated and might have been more suited to a TV movie, but it was never boring.

Shall We Dance? (1937)
The seventh onscreen teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Shall We Dance does provide entertainment, but is one of their lesser efforts because it falls short on the primary reason we watch an Astaire/Rogers musical.

Astaire plays Peter P. Peters, a ballet dancer who is the lead dancer in a ballet company and dances under the stage name of Petrov who is performing in Paris at the same time as Linda Keene (Rogers), a musical comedy star who Peter has been crushing on for years. When Peter learns Linda is going back to America on the Queen Ann, he books passage on the same ship but before he leaves he runs into Lady Tarrington (Ketti Gallien) a former dancer in Pete's company who still wants him. To get rid of her, he tells Lady Tarrington that he and Linda are already married but word of the ruse gets out, complicating the lives of Peter and Linda beyond recognition.

This film contains just about everything you expect from an Astaire/Rogers musical, including the overly complicated plot that gets in the way of the musical numbers, which are really why we're here and there are some terrific numbers here but I had the same problem with this film that I had with the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton drama The VIPS...there wasn't enough of Fred and Ginger together in this movie. When I watch an Astaire/Rogers musical, I want to see them dance together and not counting their brief pairing during the finale, the pair only danced together twice in this film.

Fred and Ginger did make the most of their two numbers together..."Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" was an energetic duet on roller skates that was a delight and they strutted their stuff after Ginger's "They all Laughed" as well. The most famous song in the score, "They Can't Take that Away from Me" was well sung by Fred but they didn't even dance. Fred and Ginger would utilize the number again a dozen years later in their final film together The Barkleys of Broadway.

Mark Sandrich's breezy direction does help to keep a somewhat talky story moving to a musical finale that is well staged but goes on way too long. Edward Everett Horton, Jerome Cowan, and Eric Blore are a fun supporting cast, but this film didn't have enough of what we expect in a Fred and Ginger musical...Fred and Ginger dancing together!

Artists and Models (1955)
Despite an overly complex screenplay, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin deliver solid entertainment with a splashy romp from 1955 called Artists and Models that finds the comic duo at the height of their popularity doing what they do best.

Lewis plays Eugene Fullstack, a nerdy wanna-be writer who is obsessed with Bat Lady comic books to the point of him having very elaborate nightmares. Martin is Rick Todd, his best friend, a wanna be artist who is going through a a creative dry spell. Rick and Eugene are thrown for a loop when Abigail Parker (Dorothy Malone), the illustrator of the Bat Lady comics and her roommate Bessie (Shirley MacLaine) who is the model for Bat Lady, move into their apartment building.

The plot thickens as Rick begins using Eugene's nightmares as inspiration for his art while pursuing a romance with Abigail. Bessie finds herself crushing on Eugene who only seems to notice her when she has her Bat Lady costume on.

Herbert Baker's screenplay, based on a play by Michael Davidson, has clearly been tailored to the talent of the stars, even though it gets overly complicated as the film progresses. What starts out as a simple story about the romance between a quartet of aspiring artists balloons into a somewhat over the top tale that touches upon the way comic books are rotting children's brains and how Eugene's dreams end up being linked to government secrets and formulas that threaten national safety and bring the FBI into the story.

Despite a story that begins to stretch credibility during the second half, director Frank Tashlin never forgets who he's working with and provides plenty of opportunities for this iconic screen team to do what they do best. Lewis again proves to be a master of physical comedy with several funny scenes, with his running up and down the stairs to communicate messages between Rick and a publisher and a very funny scene in a massage parlor that reminded me of the classic crowded stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera, as standouts.

Jack Brooks and Harry warren provide some great songs tailored to the stars including a duet for the boys called "When You Pretend", a love song for Dino called "You Look So Familiar" and a production number called "The Lucky Song" which features a tap dancing Dean and some adorable kids. There's also a song called "Innamorata" that starts out as a love song for Martin and turns into a comic tour-de-force for MacLaine.

As always Dean and Jerry are a well-oiled machine, Malone is lovely leading lady with a gift for light comedy, and MacLaine steals every scene she is in showing the beginning of the comic movie icon she would later become. Eddie Mayehoff has some funny moments as the publisher as does Kathleen Freeman as the boys' landlady. The film also offers glimpses of future stars like Eva Gabor and Anita Ekberg. This is fun and frantic entertainment that will not disappoint fans of the stars.

The Disaster Artist
An intense and unapologetic Oscar-worthy performance by James Franco is the centerpiece of an offbeat biopic called The Disaster Artist, an offbeat but never boring look at eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau.

In my review of Big Eyes, I mentioned how I enjoy watching films about real people where I know nothing about the subject because it allows me to judge the film purely on its entertainment value and that was the case here.

The film opens in late 1990's San Francisco where we meet Tommy in an acting class where he frightens most of the class with his interpretation of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, but catches the eye of a pretty but mediocre young actor named Greg (Dave Franco) who asks Tommy to do a scene with him, morphing into a bizarre friendship that finds the struggling actors moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles where after getting nowhere as an actor, Tommy decides to write and direct his own movie, an oddity called The Room and use Greg as his star.

This is a Hollywood biopic that, like Ed Wood, earns its credentials by focusing on someone who wasn't exactly considered a star or any kind of innovator in the business. I had to admit that prior to watching this film, I had never heard of Wiseau and checking his IMDB page revealed that I knew nothing of his work either; however this film definitely piqued my curiosity about the man that is due mostly to an intelligent and witty screenplay that takes some pretty accurate potshots at Hollywood and Franco's unhinged interpretation of this unique movie character who happens to be based on a real person.

Tommy speaks with one of those fake-sounding "Mittle-European" accents that we're all familiar with but he in complete denial about. He loves making a public spectacle of himself and throwing furniture around. It is also revealed that Tommy is quite wealthy though he remains mum on the source of said wealth, documented by the scene where he goes to a movie equipment company to rent movie equipment but insists on buying it, which is the beginning of his overspending to the point that he has to stop paying for air conditioning on the boiling hot set of his film.

The film's razor sharp screenplay has received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and I have to wonder how Franco was overlooked in the Best Actor category because this performance has power and pathos, producing equal doses of laughter and lumps in the throat. Dave Franco somehow manages to hold his own against his brother and there are interesting contributions along the way from Seth Rogen, Megan Mullally, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone (unrecognizable as the head of a modeling agency), Allison Brie, and Zac Efron. And anyone wondering about the authenticity of the facts presented here will probably have their doubts put to rest during the must-see closing credits. A very special look at a very special motion picture artist.

The Boyfriend
The endlessly imaginative directorial style of Ken Russell anchors his 1971 film version of a Broadway musical called The Boyfriend, which Russell turns into an affectionate valentine to 1930's Busby Berkley musicals.

This film takes place during the performance of a stage musical at a second rate theater in the English countryside where we are introduced to Polly, the assistant stage manager for the show who is asked to fill in for the leading lady when she sprains her ankle. She takes her reluctant place onstage playing the lead in a musical about a young girl in a finishing school who falls in love with a handsome messenger named Tony. Polly is smitten with Tony offstage as well but it's a much more complicated matter offstage.

The Sandy Wilson musical actually hit the British stage for the first time in 1932 but didn't come to Broadway until 1954 with Julie Andrews taking her first major role on Broadway as Polly. The show was revived in 1970 with Judy Carne playing Polly, but Russell decided that the show was a little too antiseptic to bring to the screen in its original form. Russell altered the screenplay so that the original musical becomes a play within the movie, performed by actors, who are now essentially playing one set of characters onstage and another off. We have seen this before in musicals like Kiss me Kate, but Russell takes it to another level, using Sandy Wilson's original score as the basic blueprint for some lavish and elaborate production numbers, some stay on the stage and some move seamlessly into the era of fantasy that we accept happily because, after all, it is a musical.

Russell also does a splendid job of setting up the atmosphere backstage during this story...the various rivals among cast members, the musicians who take control of the show when they're not supposed to, the hair and makeup people made responsible for miracles they can't always pull off and much more. There's one terrific shot from backstage of a scene being performed on one side of a curtain while half a dozen actors are in the middle of a frantic costume change on the other side. If you've ever done community theater, you'll be right at home here.

The slightly altered Sandy Wilson score includes "Perfect Young Ladies", "Sur Le Plage", "Fancy Forgetting", "Won't You Charleston with Me?", "I Could Be Happy with You", "It's Never too Late to Fall in Love", and the title tune.

Leading man Christopher Gable, with the aid of director Russell provided the incredible Busby Berkeley like staging of the musical numbers, The lavish production design belies the fact that this theater is supposed to be kind of run down, but it's a bit of a nitpick. 60's model Twiggy makes a charming film debut as Polly and the film also features a brief appearance from dancer Tommy Tune, who would later win two Tony awards for directing and choreographing the Broadway musical NINE. There's also a stylish cameo from Oscar winner Glenda Jackson as the bitchy star with the sprained ankle. Musical lovers will be in heaven here, especially lovers of the 1975 musical Tommy.

I haven't heard of this one, but if it's an ode to Busby Berkeley then it sounds like something I would like to see. Adding it to my watch list.

You would LOVE this movie Citizen.

The Hero
Brett Haley, the creative force behind Blythe Danner's sleeper I'll See You in My Dreams has similar success with a 2017 character study called The Hero that definitely has its problems, but is well worth your time due to a powerful and charismatic performance from its leading man, one of the most underrated actors in the business.

Sam Elliott commands the movie screen as Lee Hayden, a former star of movie westerns who is scraping by doing voice-overs for commercials (of course, it's Sam Elliott) who as the story begins, also learns that he has cancer. Lee is perplexed when a speech he gave after accepting an award goes viral and is equally perplexed by a struggling stand up comedienne (Laura Prepon), decades younger than he is, who pursues a relationship with him.

I'm not going to lie, there's nothing terribly original here in terms of storytelling, we have seen the things that go on this movie elsewhere, but what makes this movie so special is that the criminally underrated Sam Elliott is center stage. This is an actor who started out in films as a romantic leading man (Lifeguard) but eventually morphed into one of our most durable and versatile character actors. Unfortunately, he is usually on the periphery of the story but the same way he did with Blythe Danner, Haley gave this gifted actor, who is more than just an amazing voice, the chance to prove that he has the acting chops to carry a full length motion picture.

As I said, the story isn't terribly original, as a matter of fact this movie reminded me of The Wrestler with Mickey Roarke...someone who used to be at the top of his game in denial about the downslide of his career and trying to retrieve the things he gave up along the way. There's a scene in this movie that Lee has with his daughter (Krysten Ritter) that is almost identical to a scene that Roarke had with Evan Rachel Wood in 2008, but the comparison didn't bother me because this movie affected me the same way The Wrestler did...it broke my heart. The scene where Lee is rehearsing for an audition with his drug dealing BFF (Nick Offerman) actually brought tears to my eyes.

Prepon proves to be an actress of substance, Offerman offered some funny moments as well and there was the obligatory cameo by Elliott's wife Katherine Ross, but honestly, this was the Sam Elliott Show and if anyone else had been starring in this movie, I would have taken a popcorn bag and half off my rating. Thank goodness I don't have to do that. Treat yourself to this indie sleeper.

I'm glad you watched this one! Agree Sam Elliott makes the film. I didn't know the same director made, I'll See You in My Dreams, I liked that movie too.

I watched both movies based on your reviews Citizen.

Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan has received his first Oscar nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Direction for 2017's Dunkirk, an uncompromising and often heart-stopping epic that looks at a very specific WWII battle but addresses several universal themes regarding the senselessness and absurdity of war from multiple points of view and putting a very human face on war in the process.

I should begin by saying this review is coming from someone who hates war movies as a rule. This review is coming from someone who was bored to death by Saving Private Ryan but found this film to be a riveting cinematic journey that had me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, and often wanting to turn away from the screen, bur never wanting to turn it off.

This film is an up close and surprisingly personal look at allied soldiers from Britain, France, and Belgium who survive the merciless German attacks at the beach of Dunkirk, a seemingly impossible mission told from three basic angles. We watch this battle being fought from land, sea, and air through the eyes of these amazing soldiers who bend together for this war effort and put everything else aside when what they have become involved in stops becoming a mission of victory but just a matter of survival.

This Best Picture nominee enveloped me from the beginning with its look at this historic battle from these three points of view. My minimal exposure to war movies usually are told from the land or from the sea or from the air but we get a balanced and suspenseful look at all three through Nolan's incisive camera eye. Nolan not only addresses the unity that this war cultivates, but also the fact that it is not written in stone. I was surprised to see the concept of allies being challenged at every turn...there is a scene in the beginning where French soldiers are refused solace on a ship reserved for British soldiers only.

The look at the civilian effort that was involved here was also an eye-opener. One of the most compelling parts of this story focuses on an older gentleman who clearly had a military background who leases his fishing vessel to the Navy but impulsively takes the boat to the water himself, accompanied by two teenage boys. His confrontation with a shell shocked soldier rescued from atop a piece of a plane in the middle of the ocean is quite compelling. His terror at returning to Dunkirk was palpable and frightening.

This film also brought home the fact that there was no safety in this conflict. Sometime the only safe places for soldiers here was floating in the ocean letting life jackets keep them afloat. As for the air, a sequence of a pilot being shot down and the speed with which His cockpit filled with water had me holding my breath.

In addition to Best Picture and Director, the film has received six other nominations and I wouldn't be surprised if the film swept most of the technical categories. The film features superb cinematography (the shots of the ocean are breathtaking, not to mention when water and fire dangerously merge), editing, sound, and Hans Zimmer's heart pumping music beautifully frames the story. The actors serve the story with standout work from Kenneth Branaugh as a sensitive Navy admiral and Tom Hardy (Bane in The Dark Knight Rise) as a pilot. A one of a kind war movie not to be missed.

Dunkirk is so far the only Best Picture Oscar nomination that I've seen. I think you liked it more than me. I do want to see the other Best Picture nominations so I can compare them. Have you seen them all?

I've seen seven out of nine now...I haven't seen Call Me By Your Name or The Darkest Hour yet.

How to Murder Your Wife
Despite a problematic screenplay, the 1965 How to Murder Your wife still provides laughs thanks primarily to the professionalism of the cast, even if it goes on a little too long.

This allegedly sophisticated battle of the sexes stars Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, the illustrator of a nationally syndicated comic strip called Bash Brannigan and confirmed bachelor who goes to a bachelor party one night and gets very drunk. When Stanley wakes up the next morning, he is distressed to learn that during his drunken stupor, he married the non-English-speaking Italian beauty (Virna Lisi) who jumped out of the cake.

George Axelrod, who also wrote the screenplay for The Seven Year Itch provides a somewhat confusing story that leaves a little too much unexplained I did like the fact that Stanley remembered exactly what happened the morning after the party. It is never made clear why Stanley decides to incorporate his wife into his comic strip and change it completely even though he seems miserable being married and his devoted manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas) walks out on him. I had a hard time believing how quickly the new Mrs. Ford began learning English and the rules of marriage so quickly. And most confusing of all, fed up with a final invasion of his manhood/privacy, he decides to kill his wife in the comic strip and is then shocked when she really disappears and he's the first suspect.

I did find myself laughing through a great deal of this movie and put my questions about the story and its antiquated views on love and marriage on the back burner and enjoyed a cast that seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lemmon is a complete charmer as Stanley, even though I kept thinking Dean Martin might have been a better fit for the role. There are a pair of razor sharp supporting performances from Eddie Mayerhoff as Stanley's lawyer and BFF and the fabulous Claire Trevor as his wife, who helps the new Mrs. Ford adjust to married wife. And needless to say, Lisi is a breathtaking bride

Richard Quine, who also directed the 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle provides a similar breezy direction to this tale, which includes some first rate production values, especially set design (Stanley's townhouse is awesome) and Neil Hefti's zingy music. The screenplay definitely could have used some maintenance but Lemmon is always watchable and this comedy that is over half a century old held up a lot better than I thought it would.

Call Me By Your Name
2017's Call Me By Your Name is a sophisticated and luminous coming of age drama that, thanks to stylish direction and a pair of charismatics lead performances, managed to capture Oscar nominations for Best Picture and a Best Actor nomination for its 22-year old star.

This story takes place in Italy in the summer of 1983. Elio is an intelligent and compassionate 17 year old who loves to read and play piano. He is the son of a professor of Greco-Roman culture whose life is changed forever with the arrival of Oliver, his father's research assistant who has come to stay with Elio and his family for the summer. As hard he he tries to understand it, then fight it, Elio cannot deny his attraction to Oliver which is surprisingly reciprocated.

James Ivory's Oscar-nominated screenplay, based on a novel by Andre Aciman, is to be applauded not only for its tasteful approach to the subject matter that could have come off as exploitative, but by absolutely nailing what Elio is going through. The most entertaining aspect of this story was the first third showing this restless teen going through typical teen growing pains, including the beginning of a relationship with a girl named Marzia, which only further complicates Elio's inability to stop thinking about OIiver and always wanting to be around him and having no idea why.

This story establishes a chemistry between the character of Elio and Oliver that puts us behind what is happening between them, despite the fact that Oliver is clearly SEVERAL years older than Elio, making what is happening between them look inappropriate on the surface. Unfortunately, the inappropriateness of the relationship becomes moot because the age difference is just the beginning of the issues that are going to challenge these two, primarily the fact neither character is actually gay.

Where this film really scores is in the sharp directorial eye of Luca Guadagnino, who allows his camera to tell the story and project a lot of feelings going on between the characters without any dialogue at all. So much of this story requires the viewer to read the faces of the characters and that is only possible through very specific direction that gives an air of ambivalence to certain parts of the story that should actually be that way. And the reveal of the meaning of the title of the film absolutely melted by heart.

Guadagnino works wonders with his cast, especially Timothee Chalamet whose smart and charismatic performance as Elio lights up the screen and earned the young actor (who is also in another Oscar nominated film this year, Lady Bird) an Oscar Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. Armie Hammer is undeniably sexy as Oliver and I also loved Michael Stuhlberg as Elio's dad. The film also features stunning Italian scenery and the most gorgeous score of classical piano music ever. A lovely and transcendent cinematic journey that definitely had me fighting tears during the final act. Needless to say, Brokeback Mountain fans will have a head start here.

Bachelor in Paradise
Bob Hope fans will not be disappointed with a sophisticated romp from 1961 called Bachelor in Paradise that combines classic Hope one-liners with a clever story and a terrific supporting cast.

Hope plays AJ Niles, the author of a series of books on bachelor living abroad who finds himself in hot water with the IRS thanks to his crooked business manager. He is ordered back to the states and is forced to live in a suburban community called Paradise Cove, under an alias, where his presence as a bachelor in a community of marriage and family has a profound effect on the entire town, especially the frosty real estate agent (Lana Turner) who rents Niles his house.

Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter have provided a screenplay that is a clever skewering of the Battle of Sexes combined with just enough Hope one-liners that this story seems to fit him like a glove, even though on the surface the story seems more suited to someone like Cary Crant or Dean Martin, but the smooth direction by Jack Arnold helps the screenwriter work for the star. And needless to say, the constant wordplay on the term "Paradise" became silly very quickly.

Even though this was during a latter phase in his career, Hope still proves to be quite adept at physical comedy with a scene at the supermarket and an encounter with an overloaded washing machine being a highlight. But the most pleasant surprise for me in this movie was Lana Turner...one reason I wanted to see this movie was my curiosity if Hope and Lana would have any chemistry and I'm happy to report that they did. Turner displays a gift for light comedy that I have rarely seen displayed before (Ziegfeld Girl comes close).

The leads receive solid support from a veteran comedy cast including Jim Hutton, Paul Prentiss, John McGiver, Reta Shaw, Virginia Grey, Don Porter, and the fabulous Janis Paige, doing her accustomed brassy turn as a soon to be divorcee. There's also a fun cameo by Agnes Moorhead as a judge. Even non-Hope fans might find something to enjoy here. Another 60's comedy that holds up pretty well.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Before winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey was methodically destroying his career with films like 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a clever idea that gets lost in a cliche-ridden screenplay and some really unappealing characters.

In this contemporary re-thinking of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a womanizing fashion photographer who travels to his brother's wedding hoping he can stop him from making a terrible mistake. After the rehearsal, Connor is visited by three ghosts who are going to show him the error of his ways, which include the possibility of a second chance with the girl who got away (Jennifer Garner) who just happens to be the maid of honor.

With the dozens of versions of Dickens' original story out there, a genuine re-thinking of the story was a good idea, but the screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who wrote The Hangover is just a little too antiseptic and full of cloyingly sweet sentiment that I felt like I needed an insulin shot at the end of the movie. The ghost of Connor's Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) talks like he's in a Damon Runyan story rather than Dickens and Connor and his brother actually describe their relationship as "you and me against the world"...seriously?

The screenplay becomes more problematic because the characters presented here are just not very likable. Of course, Connor is a jerk, but he's not the only one. Garner's Jenny is an icy bitch who is full of herself and the reveal of why she and Connor broke up did not add to her appeal and the bride to be (Lacy Chabert) is a hysterical shrew who needs to up her meds. Emma Stone plays the first ghost that visits Connor, who is revealed to be the first girl Conner ever had sex with and I have never found Stone more annoying onscreen. The only likable character in the movie is Connor's brother, charmingly played by Breckin Meyer, but his screentime is sadly limited.

Mark Waters, who directed 500 Days of Summer, does employ some fantasy touches in his vision of the story but most of them come off as kind of contrived and silly. This is definitely another one of those really good ideas on paper that lost something in its translation to the big screen.

Sounds horrible just from the DVD cover. I think I'll pass on that one.

Yeah, it was pretty bad...it was a nice idea, but it just didn't work.

Born Yesterday (1950)
One of Oscar's biggest upsets was when Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Gloria Swanson, and Eleanor Parker lost the Outstanding Lead Actress Oscar of 1950 to Judy Holliday for her performance in a little black and white comedy called Born Yesterday.

Based on a play written by Garson Kanin, this is the story of Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) a junk tycoon who arrives in Washington DC to buy a couple of congressman, accompanied by his mistress, a voluptuous, not-too-bright, ex-chorus girl named Billie Dawn (Holliday) who is an unwilling participant in some of Harry's shady business dealings. Harry decides that Billie has some rough edges that need to be smoothed out and he offers a reporter named Paul Verral (William Holden) $200 a week to educate Billie and make her more refined.

In addition to trying to educate Billie, Paul also ends up opening Billie's eyes to the kind of man Harry is and how nothing good can come of the relationship. Paul's influence on Billie also comes to light as she begins to question Harry's shady business dealings and the way he treats her. And as hard as he tries to fight it, Paul finally has to be honest about the fact that he's falling for Billie.

Judy Holliday became a Broadway star when she originated the role of Billie on Broadway but when Columbia president Harry Cohn purchased the rights for the movie he planned to have the current woman in his life, Rita Hayworth, play Billie in the film. At the same time, Holliday was appearing in the Tracy-Hepburn comedy Adam's Rib and when Katharine Hepburn heard Hayworth had been signed, Hepburn beefed up Hollliday's role in their film so the studio would notice and it worked, Columbia reconsidered and decided to let Holliday recreate the role she originated on Broadway.

One of the smartest decisions Columbia ever made, because Judy Holliday's performance is the centerpiece of this movie and what makes it worth watching. Holliday creates the real movie "dumb blonde" who really isn't as dumb as she looks and paved the way for girls like Marilyn Monroe to become a star. Holliday lights up the screen here, delivering one of the greatest comic tour-de-forces ever onscreen. This character is a clear collaboration of director George Cukor and the gifted actress who bring us a character we love from the first time she opens her mouth and that voice like nails on a chalkboard comes out. The character is a perfect counterpart to the loud and dangerous gangster Brock and the sensitive reporter who takes his job to educate Billie seriously without ever talking down to her.

The film features authentic DC scenery, solid black and white photography and costumes which aided Cukor in opening this story up for the screen. Broderick is kind of one-note as Brock, but Holden is his usual charming self, but this movie is the Judy Holliday Show and it is her performance alone that earns this film its rating.