I love this film so much--another Judy Holliday screwball comedy directed by George Cukor. Notable for the screen debut of Jack Lemmon, Holliday had great screen chemistry with both suitors of her love triangle, Lemmon and Peter Lawford. In today's media-obsessive and Facebook-oriented culture, where selfies and 'food porn' are splashed online whenever people leave their homes, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this got remade with contemporary twists (here, Holliday pays part of her life savings, simply because she wants her name, 'Gladys Glover', on the largest billboard of New York City, after she loses a modeling job for being too fat--and chaos ensues when Lawford's company, who's father has always utilized that billboard for their ad campaign every summer, wants to know why it's reserved, and with simply the huge words, 'Gladys Glover' on it.
Lemmon's doings, both in being so intrigued by her that he moves into her apartment building, right across the hall from her, and in making a documentary film about their meeting, when he incorrectly thinks he's licked and that she's chosen Lawford as her partner, were very nice touches, from the Garson Kanin script. If you come across a film that comes from one of his screenplays, don't hesitate for a moment. Chances are very good that you're in for a real treat.
A documentary DVD extra on Lemmon's life and career (which I believe was on my copy of 'Glengarry Glen Ross', but I may be wrong) is called 'Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon'. It's great, and well-worth checking out. He sometimes gets short shrift amongst cinephiles because he mostly does comic roles, but he didn't get two Oscars and eight nominations overall for nothing. Though he's more well-known both for his films with Walter Matthau, and as the alter ego of Billy Wilder in seven of his films, check this out if you've ever been a fan. You'll be very pleasantly surprised by this little gem.
barrymost
September 28, 2019
8
Judy Holliday is wonderful in this sparkling little comedy as Gladys Glover, an ex-model with aspirations of stardom. She begins to achieve her big dreams when she blows her life-savings on getting her name plastered on the biggest billboard in town! Jack Lemmon, as her long-suffering, aspiring boyfriend, hits a home run in this, his Hollywood debut. Cute comedy may be a bit corny at times, as well as utterly ridiculous, but it's rather fun to watch. A nicely-done, pleasant diversion.
Would I recommend? Yes, to fans of Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon alike, and to those who like a good little comedy.
A time capsule from 1950s New York, which is so prominent on screen that it practically becomes a character in its own right. As always, Judy Holliday is great fun as the fame-chasing lead, and Lemmon’s early charm in his debut film shines through. The satire’s light touch and the plot’s a bit fluffy, but it’s an easy, breezy watch. Whilst not a classic, it's good fun if you’re into old-school rom-coms with a playful jab at ambition.
“Gladys” (Judy Holliday) is quite an ambitious lass but as she heads into her thirties, her career is seriously stalling. After her latest let down, she heads to Central Park and that’s where she encounters “Pete” (Jack Lemmon). He’s a struggling documentary film maker who takes an instant shine to her. She, on the other hand, initially just sees in him another opportunity to develop her career. Then a giant billboard comes up for lease in the centre of New York and she hits on the idea of just putting up a great poster of herself on it for three months and seeing what happens. He, having now moved in next door to her, thinks she’s bonkers but it does attract the attention of a soap millionaire called “Adams” (Peter Lawford) - only for quite the wrong reasons. She and he meet. It isn’t auspicious but as both may have something the other wants, perhaps some sort of concordat might work? Meantime, the lovestruck “Pete” realises that his chances of winning over the new love of his life are dwindling unless he comes up with some sort of a plan and hopes that perhaps “Gladys” might realise that he’s a keeper after all. Holliday is on good form throughout this amiable, lightly satirical, comedy as she combines a gentle ditziness with a degree of selfish ambition and leaves us with a woman whom we could actually quite like. Lawford also plays out well here with and to be honest I felt she might have done better with him than with his constantly nagging rival whose character, I have to say, rather got on my nerves for most of the first hour of the film. That's a solid testament to Lemmon as he foils well and helps provide some of the plentiful chemistry on offer amidst this little love triangle as the writing emerges on the wall. I thought it became just a little too sentimental and predicable towards the end, but Holliday owns this film and she really does entertain.
