Saw this movie last night and was sorely disappointed. I had just seen and enjoyed "I Love You Again" starring William Powell and Myrna Loy and wanted to see more of Powell's work. Well, he's great, and has a pretty well-written character in "My Man Godfrey," but, as someone else has pointed out here, the women's characters are two-dimensional. What a waste of female talent!
When I think of the screwball comedies that are really good, I think of "Bringing Up Baby," a film where both the male *and* the female leads had snappy dialogue and wonderfully written characters that had a native intelligence, not simply a childish persistence, such as Carole Lombard's Irene had in "My Man Godfrey."
And the dialogue ain't all that great, either. A lot of the laugh lines seemed to be Powell's sarcastic remarks which were too obvious and too many. The actors make the most of it that they can, but the lines just aren't good enough.
The plot also had holes in it, loose ends, and an unconvincing emotional throughline.
As for the social commentary on "the forgotten men," please. Actually it started out quite well with the uncomfortable scene in the city dump, but after that it seemed as if the writer wanted to take care of that issue with lip service. Why bring it up if you're not going to do it justice? Preston Sturgess managed to solidly and economically show us the dark side of human nature, yet still expertly weave in the nutty characters and big laffs.
I'm not one of those viewers who loves modern comedies like Adam Sandler stuff. I've been seeing these old films for decades. So don't consider this the commentary of someone who just doesn't "get it."
I'd advise people who want to see Powell to see him in "The Thin Man" or "I Love You Again" (and I'm sure there are more), and to get the best screwball comedy by checking out some of Katherine Hepburn's and Cary Grant's films, something with George S. Kaufman's name on it, or a Preston Sturgess film. I'm sure there are many more, and would love to see a comprehensive list of *really* good comedies of this genre someplace.
When I think of the screwball comedies that are really good, I think of "Bringing Up Baby," a film where both the male *and* the female leads had snappy dialogue and wonderfully written characters that had a native intelligence, not simply a childish persistence, such as Carole Lombard's Irene had in "My Man Godfrey."
And the dialogue ain't all that great, either. A lot of the laugh lines seemed to be Powell's sarcastic remarks which were too obvious and too many. The actors make the most of it that they can, but the lines just aren't good enough.
The plot also had holes in it, loose ends, and an unconvincing emotional throughline.
As for the social commentary on "the forgotten men," please. Actually it started out quite well with the uncomfortable scene in the city dump, but after that it seemed as if the writer wanted to take care of that issue with lip service. Why bring it up if you're not going to do it justice? Preston Sturgess managed to solidly and economically show us the dark side of human nature, yet still expertly weave in the nutty characters and big laffs.
I'm not one of those viewers who loves modern comedies like Adam Sandler stuff. I've been seeing these old films for decades. So don't consider this the commentary of someone who just doesn't "get it."
I'd advise people who want to see Powell to see him in "The Thin Man" or "I Love You Again" (and I'm sure there are more), and to get the best screwball comedy by checking out some of Katherine Hepburn's and Cary Grant's films, something with George S. Kaufman's name on it, or a Preston Sturgess film. I'm sure there are many more, and would love to see a comprehensive list of *really* good comedies of this genre someplace.