I'm glad you showed up. We've been looking inside every cake in town.

Today, instead of reviewing a movie or comparing a few movies, I want to celebrate a birthday:

Happy Birthday Donald O'Connor!!


He was born on August 28th, 1925. Most people know or remember him for his performance in Singin' in the Rain (1952) as the hilarious Cosmo Brown. I have been fortunate enough to see him other roles but I haven't seen as many of his films as I would like. However, from the ones I have seen - Call Me Madam (1953), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), and That Funny Feeling (1965) - I still like Singin' in the Rain the best. Now, to be fair, Singin' in the Rain is hard to beat (it's an indisputable classic) and I really have not seen many of his movies, much to my shame and disappointment. If you are looking for a little more Donald O'Connor, I can offer my suggestions from my meager experience with his films. Call Me Madam is my favorite of the three films that I have seen (concerning him, that is). I'm not an Ethel Merman fan but the parts with Vera-Ellen and Donald O'Connor are very cute. The plot is cute and the songs are wonderful (they include "It's A Lovely Day Today" and "You're Just In Love" - two of my favorites). With There's No Business Like Show Business, you have to get through Ethel Merman's singing again, but you get some Marilyn Monroe to compensate. Finally, That Funny Feeling is a delightful Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin film but Donald O'Connor, while great, is not the witty and wacky side-kick, or the charming and clever lead, but the luckless, abused best friend (not my favorite role for him).

In any role, Donald O'Connor shines through as a brilliant performer. I highly encourage checking out his other films. And, to encourage a wee bit of dialogue on this blog and to celebrate his birthday, can everyone please comment with
a) your favorite Donald O'Connor movie
b) and/or your favorite Cosmo quote (there are so many good ones!)

To conclude, here is a classic O'Connor number. Enjoy!

Up with chocolate!

So... long time no see! I wish I could blame my lack of updating on a lack of time, but that would only be partially true. To make up for my terribly bad manners, I will write a more in-depth blog entry for you. I do hope it isn't too long... Okay, so that title was a little misleading, wasn't it? Those of you who recognize it, however, will likely guess what movie I'll be discussing next. The truth is, I'll actually be discussing 3 movies! Pillow Talk (1959), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), and Down with Love (2003).

Down with Love is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's quirky, it's romantic, it's hilarious, and it pays homage to the sex comedies of the 1960s. It is a common misconception that Down with Love is based on Pillow Talk. I am a firm believer that it is not; rather, it was highly influenced by it. The two movies do have striking similarities, but their differences are so important that one cannot say they are even "practically" the same movie (which I have heard

said).

This summer, I was able to watch a good handful of new movies (thanks to Netflix!), and one of them was Sex and the Single Girl. The movie reaffirmed my opinions in the above matter because Sex and the Single Girl, like Pajama Game, has major similarities with Down with Love - but different similarities.

All three of these movies are 1960s sex comedies in style (despite the fact that one was made in the late 50s and one was made in 2003). Thus, all of them share similar story-lines and similar attitudes towards romance. They're all about the "battle of the sexes" and so they all deal with an intelligent, independent, single woman and a suave, smooth, womanizer. The plots, as I said earlier, are all pretty similar: basically, the woman, in her independent and free-spirited way, angers the womanizer to the point where he feels he must get even with her. And, as each womanizer feels that each woman needs to understand a thing or two about sex and love, they all decide to pretend to be the sort of man that could seduce the women. And there you have it, a basic wrap-up of each plot.

Now for the differences and similarities (these may contain spoilers):

Pajama Game, like Down with Love, features the female protagonist (Jan Morrow and Barbara Novak, respectively) despise the man (Brad Allen and Catcher Block) for his womanizing ways. In Pajama Game, Jan Morrow is infuriated that Brad Allen allows his social life monopolize her phone line and in Down with Love, Barbara Novak argues that Catcher Block is "the worst kind of man... men who change women as often as they change their shirts." To get back, both men pretend to be pure, innocent Southerners, the kind who like home-cooked meals, pipes, and quiet home life. Another similarity to point out is the use of split screens in both. Pajama Game includes a sexy scene where both characters are taking a bath in their seperate homes but the split screen creates the comical illusion that they are sharing a bath instead. This idea is taken to an exaggerated measure in Down with Love, where the couple (unintentionally) does several sexual favors for each other in an innocent phone conversation. Now, add in a luckless, hapless, neruotic, and rich best friend to the main male character (not to mention Tony Randall), and that about sums up the similarities between these two films. If I have left anything out, please feel free to let me know and I will be happy to edit this post accordingly.

Sex and the Single Girl features different similarities with Down with Love. Far from criticizing the man's social schedule, this female protagonist, Helen Gurley Brown, encourages it and encourages the singe girl to partake in the fun as well. Her encouragement is detailed in her controversial book, as is Barbara Novak's who, like Helen Gurley Brown, encourages women to stimulate their sex life, modeling it after the womanizer's; at the same time, however, she judges men for using women in such ways. In both of these two films, Catcher Block and Bob Weston are journalists, working on exposés to unveil the true romantic inclinations of the women.

Well, now that you've had a (somewhat) brief description of the differences and the similarities between these three zany sex comedies, you know what to expect (oh! did I mention the car chase in Sex and the Single Girl?).

So, rent these movies, grab a cocktail and, of course, some chocolate, and enjoy!

I'll never pinch you again...

I have been entirely too negligent on this blog. My apologies. I am not yet entirely convinced that many people read this (which is mostly my fault, I realize) so I lose the urgency of a regular blog. At any rate, here I am, back to blog some more!

It Started With Eve (1941)

Thank goodness for Netflix! Several of the movies I now love are due to Netflix. The movie I got the other day was very enjoyable. It was part of a Deanna Durbin collection. I had never heard of her before, but I figured that any actor or actress with a movie collection has to be worth looking into so I checked out a film with a very interesting plot line. It definitely did not disappoint!

Here is the aforementioned plot: When the rich Jonathan Reynolds (Charles Laughton) lies on his deathbed, his son, Johnny (Robert Cummings) fears the worst. And when Johnny's father begs to meet his son's fiancee, Johnny is anxious to comply. Unfortunately, the fiancee is out shopping, so Johnny, in an act of desperation, asks the coat-check girl, Anne (Deanna Durbin) to play the role. Complications (and comedy) ensue, however, when the father starts getting better!

This movie was very enjoyable. The plot was fun and surprisingly light (surprising only because it dealt with the imminent death of an old man). The characters were very likable. I found myself cheering for Mr. Reynolds, hoping he'd be able to sneak a cigar without his doctor finding out, and loving Anne and her clever, kind personality. A couple of drawbacks to the film, however slight, were that the romance between Anne and Johnny was a little underplayed. I was more on board with the friendship between Anne and Mr. Reynolds than I was with the relationship between her and his son. The other thing, was that this was a musical... of sorts. It wasn't the sort of musical I'm used to with a clever score by Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, or Kern. Deanna Durbin is a classical singer and all of her songs were operatic. This is not a drawback, really, it just surprised me.

I highly recommend the film, in any case. Deanna Durbin is an endearing and adorable actress. The ending is perfectly happy and the movie is, overall, very enjoyable.

Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name?

So, I'm going to warn you: there will be several pictures for this next post because I simply couldn't resist! I watched a movie recently that absolutely captivated me:

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (2008)

I confess, I had my apprehensions about the film because contemporary movies have a tendency to be depressing. But it looked so cute that I kept it on my Netflix queue and when I saw it at the library, I happily checked it out. This movie is the best new movie I've seen in a long time (and that's saying a lot because I love movies). It's funny, romantic, and beautifully done.

The basic story follows an unusual day for Miss Pettigrew, a hard-on-her-luck governess who has recently lost her job and, in a desperate moment, shows up for a job for singer Delysia Lafosse. Come to find out, Miss Lafosse is not looking for a governess, but a social secretary and soon Miss Pettigrew is juggling Delysia's love life, her career, and forming a wonderful friendship with the quirky singer.

As I said, the movie is beautifully done. The costumes, hair, makeup, and sets are lovely and delightfully period. The cast is remarkable. Every one, from Amy Adams and Francis McDormand to Shirley Henderson, Claran Hinds, and Lee Pace is fantastic and plays their part wonderfully. I cannot rave about this movie enough. I highly recommend it. I cannot wait to buy the movie and the soundtrack (oh, did I forget to mention the great score?).

John, every day you act worse, but today, you're acting like tomorrow.

I have a few things to say before I jump into my review. First, I'm not sure that the above quote will have anything to do with my post. My mom and I finished our Fred & Ginger marathon tonight (finishing up with Roberta (1935)) and that's one of my favorite quotes from the film.

The second thing I have to say is: I'm sorry for not following through with my plan to review 2 movies a week. Here's what happened (I sound like Mr. Monk!) - I netflixed Bells Are Ringing (1960) (not to be confused with For Me and My Gal (1942)) but we've moved recently so the Netflix was redirected and it took a good week and half to finally get to me. By the time I got it, I'd already contacted Netflix and told them that the dvd got lost in the mail and they had sent me a replacement copy. So then I had 2 copies but by this time it was already yesterday and at least a week too late for me to follow through with my promise of 2 reviews a week. You see, Bells Are Ringing, was supposed to be my new film of the week. So, now that I'm quite overdue, I will finally review it because it is a movie worthy of reviewing.

Okay, so I checked out Bells Are Ringing because it stars Judy Holliday (who has quickly become one of my favorite actresses) and Dean Martin - what a pairing! The basic plot is as follows: Ella Peterson (Holliday) works at an answering service, taking and giving messages. However, she takes the service a bit further, involving herself in the lives of the clients by giving advice, playing matchmaker, playing mother, and, occasionally, even playing Santa Claus! Things really begin to shake up when she falls for a client (Martin) and when a snoopy inspector tries to prove that the answering service supplies men with additional services...

The movie is very cute and very fun. I very much enjoyed it and I highly recommend it. Judy Holliday doesn't disappoint - she's a pure joy and very entertaining. There are some really fun songs, some quirky jokes, and some cute dresses (for the fashion-lovers). Overall, I'd say the movie is very good (I gave it 4 stars on Netflix).

I must warn you, however, if you're looking into watching this movie. It was adapted from a Broadway play and it's very, very campy. The actors sing to the camera and the songs are very staged (for lack of a better word). This didn't really take away from the movie, but I feel I should give a proper heads-up.

Hopefully, campiness doesn't deter you from a good movie because I certainly recommend this one.

I don't think I'm unreasonable. I think I'm reasonable. You're the ones that are un.

So, last week I tried a new thing: I reviewed an old movie. I got a good response for it so I've decided to try it more often. In fact, I'm going to try to review an old movie every week - along with a new movie every week. That will make 2 blogs a week. How does that sound? So, for this week I'm going to review a movie that I've lately been really digging:

It Should Happen To You (1954)

First, for a brief synopsis: Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) is down on her luck and desperate to make a name for herself. After some debating, she decides to put her name on a billboard. If the fame that comes with having her name on a billboard isn't enough, she soon has the attentions of romantic Jack Lemmon and playboy Peter Lawford.

This film is one of my favorite Judy Holliday movies. Actually, Judy Holliday played in surprisingly few movies, so I suppose that saying this one is one of my favorites isn't saying much. I've only seen a few of her films, myself: It Should Happen To You (1954), Born Yesterday (1950), Adam's Rib (1949), and The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956). Adam's Rib almost doesn't count, in my opinion, because it's mainly a Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy vehicle. In the other three, however, Holliday plays wonderful characters. The women she plays are always strong, independent yet romantic, loopy, intuitive, and quirky. She's very genuine in her acting and I'm always impressed by her.

I ran into this film when I was browsing Netflix and it definitely didn't disappoint! It's funny and wacky, romantic and sexy. It has a fun beginning and a happy ending. Like every movie, it has its faults: her boyfriend should be more supportive of her and the moral of the story shouldn't be that fame brings unhappiness whereas privacy is bliss. But, if you keep these faults in mind when you watch this movie, I think you'll enjoy it.

Chance is the fool's name for fate, my lad...

When I first set out to write this blog, I had planned to write reviews just about every week on movies old and new - both in terms of when they were made and when I had seen them. However, with the exception of holiday films, I have pretty much been sticking to movies that I'd recently seen for the first time. As this was not my original intent, I'm now going to go back to it and review an old classic for me:

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers make up one of my all-time favorite Hollywood couples. For years, my favorite Fred and Ginger film was The Gay Divorcee. "Night and Day" remains one of my favorite Fred and Ginger dances, although I can now see the silliness within the movie.

The basic plot is as follows: (although it's hard to be basic because, in my opinion, the plot is relatively convoluted) Guy Holden (Astaire) is a famous dancer (naturally) who falls for Mimi Glossop (Rogers). Unfortunately, Mimi is already married, but she is working on getting a divorce with the help of Guy's friend, lawyer Eggbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett-Horton). With a small mix-up in quotes and codewords, Mimi believes that Guy is the correspondent hired to help her get a divorce - and she isn't too happy about it! See what I mean? Convoluted! And I'm leaving out a lot.

The film was the first to cast Fred and Ginger in starring roles together, which has its pros and its cons. On the one hand, they are still new as dancing partners and have (in my opinion) a nice raw quality to their dancing that is a little different from their later polished style. In "Night and Day," in particular, she seems very loose and he seems very stiff - almost cariacatures of the expression that "He gives her class. She gives him sex." I think in later films they toned down their styles to blend together more, but the contrasting styles really add to the number.

On the other hand, RKO did not seem too confident in their new stars and boosted them with several comedic sidecharacters. While the characters are funny, they're also very silly and sometimes steal focus.

The music is fun, if a bit cooky (look for a very young Betty Grable). "The Continental" won an Oscar for Best Song. And, as I said before, "Night and Day" is one of my favorite songs by them.

So if you're looking for something fun and light and a little bit wacky, then check out The Gay Divorcee. It won't disappoint and it's a very important part of the Fred and Ginger canon.