Phffft (1954) User Reviews

This one is easily my favorite Judy Holliday film

[nomoons11 · 7/10 · 2 November 2011]

You wanna know why? Cause she doesn't play Judy Holliday.

Normally of all the Holliday films that get bounced around as great, Born Yesterday and It Should Happen to You are usually what gets mentioned. This one, to me, is her best. She actually plays a character that's not the dumb ditzy blonde. There's no trace of the Born Yesterday character in this. I loved it.

There doesn't have to be a whole lot mentioned about Jack Lemmon because...well...he's just great in just about anything he does. This one is no exception. The chemistry between these 2 is pretty amazing. I'm a little surprised they didn't do more films together.

Watch this on a rainy day with an ice cold glass of milk and a box of doughnuts. It's one of those films you'll fall into on the couch and smile when the credits role.

Very simple and yet very watchable

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 20 January 2007]

This is a very simple film with a pretty ordinary plot, yet because the film was so well-handled, it's very worth seeing. Basically, it's a reworking of the plot from THE AWFUL TRUTH or MR. AND MRS. SMITH--a couple breaks up but it soon becomes obvious that they still love each other. The writing is fresh and original (despite the idea having been recycled) and much of this is due to the little touches throughout the film (such as the cute character played by Kim Novak and the 'whooshing' bed). Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday are also wonderful in the leads, as they have a certain sweetness about their characters. They are vulnerable and a little annoying, but you also like them and want to see them live happily ever after. Because of all these elements, the film just seemed to breeze by and I could easily forgive that the ending was predictable. A lovely little film and a terrific "date film".

Thin material but Holliday and Lemmon make an expert team...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 10 March 2007]

If PHFFFT had been made in the '30s or '40s, it would have been done with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur as the couple (or Cary and Irene Dunne). But by 1954, JUDY HOLLIDAY and JACK LEMMON were paired once again (they starred previously in IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU), and proved to be a great comic team with perfect timing and good chemistry.

As it is, the story is a throwback to the '30s and the kind of screwball comedies Grant usually did. George Axelrod's script is about a couple who decide that their married life has become a bore and impulsively seek a divorce. They then settle down to the business of finding another mate and discover that the single life is not exactly a bed of roses.

Lemmon is matched with KIM NOVAK (a blind date arranged by JACK Carson), and Novak gets a chance to glow as an airhead with a Marilyn Monroe air of winsome charm but ditsy manners. She tries hard, but the character seems forced and her attempt to play the simple minded glamor girl comes across as strained and awkward.

But the show belongs to the shenanigans of Holliday and Lemon as they go through the paces of an amusing script with some laugh getting results. However, the material is thin and the ending is a rather predictable one with Judy successfully resisting the advances of JACK Carson and realizing who her own true love really is.

Fans of Holliday and Lemmon should enjoy it, but Kim Novak still had a lot to learn.

Teamwork!

[marcslope · 11 April 2000]

It's sort of like "The Awful Truth" as re-imagined by a '50s screenwriter with a smutty mind: Married couple divorce, try other partners, reunite. The high-school-boy-giggling-about-sex tone gets pretty heavy, but try to overlook that, because the film has so much to recommend it: New York location filming, early Kim Novak in a small part, and most of all, Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon. Was there ever a greater romantic comedy team? She's hysterically funny and amazingly touching at the same time, and he partners her perfectly. They're even sexy together -- it's not a quality you usually associate with either actor. Watch the "mambo" sequence, with their shifting feelings about each other played out in dance: a classic scene.

I'd rate these two over even Tracy and Hepburn. How sad that they made only two movies together.

Made For Each Other

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 11 March 2007]

It is not the greatest comedy in the world, nor the greatest film of either it's two stars (nor it's two lead supporting players), nor the best film it's two stars made together, nor the best film script of George Axelrod. But PHFFFT is a good comedy about marriage and divorce, and in it's point of view resembles a film made a decade earlier in England called VACATION FROM MARRIAGE, about how their experiences in World War II separately rejuvenate the love and affection in Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr's doldrum like marriage. Fortunately Jack Lemmon and Judy Holiday don't need anything so desperate.

Lemmon is a former naval officer who is a tax lawyer and has met Holiday, an employee of a major network, in the waning days of World War II. They start dating, and end up marrying just at the point that his career in the Navy ends (and he hooks up in a good law firm) and her career zooms as the author of a major radio soap opera (which in 1954 was still quite a big thing). But as they are both prospering in their careers, they tend to drift a bit apart. We see Lemmon (after dinner with Holiday) getting sexual excitement reading a "Mickey Spillaine" type novel (how Ensign Pulver would have understood that), and a slow simmering Judy watching him for some kind of action towards her. Finally she asks him for a divorce. Surprisingly he agrees, as he feels there is nothing left in their marriage at this point.

She gets a divorce very quickly (by the way - small note - her taxi driver taking her away from the courthouse is Jimmy Dodd of the Mickey Mouse Club fame: this is the first time I have seen him in anything except the Mickey Mouse Club). But soon Judy (under the wing of her mother, Luella Gear) finds she is not finding any fulfillment in her new freedom. Her first date is with an actor from her soap opera, who instead of romancing her starts discussing writing a rival character (actually the central character!) out of some of the scripts. Her attempts at foreign language studies (she is planning a trip to France) does not work. And her mother's redecoration (a round bed) is not really great.

But Jack is not doing well either. Setting up with his old navy buddy, Jack Carson (mentally I compared their relatively easy relationship to Jack's classic problems with Walter Matthau in later films), and finding that Carson's solutions are not all great. He wants Jack to jump back into the dating game - and volunteers Kim Novak for that. Novak is playing her part like a clone (except in terms of hair style) to Marilyn Monroe. She has the wide eyed naiveté mixed with a large dollop of common sense about what she is around for. But it is a clone performance, and one welcome later performances of Novak in both comedy (BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE) and drama (VERTIGO) to see what she would turn out to be capable of doing.

Jack does lighten up - he first buys a sporty little Austin to drive around in, and he does take dance lessons (as does Judy). The latter leads to the real highlight of the film: when both arrive at a night spot with dates, end up on the dance floor doing the rumba and the mambo, and managing to transform their dancing into a momentary charge of sexual attraction between them. From that point one realizes it is only a matter of time before they return together.

Carson has one major scene as well. He decides (erroneously, as it turns out) that since Jack and Judy are divorced, he can date Judy. As this is an Axelrod script, there is a bit of THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH here, as Carson tells Judy of his noticing "types" who are dating. It reminds one of Tom Ewell talking or thinking of sexual problems or matters in the other film.

It is a neat little time capsule in many ways. Made today, the sexual aspect would be more outspoken, but it was made in the quieter (perhaps too quieter) Eisenhower Era. Even the title is a bit of a time capsule artifact: "Phffft" (pronounced with a bit of air in the voice as "fitt") was a term used by Walter Winchell in his gossip column to say that a loving celebrity couple was splitting. It's brief, final sound (like a rip or a whistle of air) suggested that these romances were brief things. But who remembers Winchell these days - his columns are useful in doing research for books on old celebrities. Still the movie itself was a nice romantic comedy, and worth watching.

Whimisical updating of the Awful Truth

[aromatic-2 · 7/10 · 13 April 2001]

The four stars make a marvelous quadrangle, and the physical comedy is great. My one disappointment is Richard Quine's direction. Lemmon must've liked him because they did at least 3 movies together, but he always seems to be trying to unexplicably extract pathos out of screwball situations, and this technique quickly wears thin. That aside, still a lot of fun.

Not bad, but disappointing...just no chemistry between Lemmon and Holliday

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 20 September 2013]

Phffft! pretty much describes my feelings about this film. And that surprises me. Jack Lemmon has always been one of my favorite actors...a man who can be comfortable with comedy or drama. And Judy Holliday was bright in a number of films, including one of my favorite musicals -- "Bells Are Ringing". So when I saw this listed on TCM I was pleased since somehow I had never seen this.

For me, this script just doesn't quite make it. Lots of potential. Perhaps it was partly because this film seems incredibly dated. Lemmon and Holliday are pleasant enough in the roles, but they sure don't seem very inspired, nor -- in this film -- do they seem to click.

Although only 44 years of age when this was filmed, Jack Carson seems way too old in this film. The grossly slicked down hair doesn't help any. And again, his character seems so outdated. If you're a Kim Novak fan, don't get too excited -- her role is not very big, but she and Lemmon seem to have a little screen magic.

The one truly bright segment in this film is the dancing fiasco. Both Lemmon and Holliday sparkled here! It's not that this is a bad film. It's pretty good...but just pretty good. Worth a watch...once.

Strike a light

[Popey-6 · 7/10 · 10 June 2003]

Once in a while this movie offers glimpses of fun amidst the flashbacks and repetitive scenes. Kim Novak's Monroe-esque appearance brings a little relief but otherwise it's easy to get distracted. Watch out for the joke with the lamp in the window - quite a gem and wonderfully played by Lemmon and Novak. I believe the title of the film is the sound of a match extinguishing. It's referenced quite close to the beginning in the close-up on the gossip column.

It's all in the timing!

[CMUltra · 9/10 · 8 June 2006]

One reason Judy Holliday fans (of which I am one) are so fervent in their love for the comedienne is that she had mastered timing. In comedy, timing is everything.

Phffft! is an excellent vehicle for Judy to work her magic. The story is pedestrian and the one-liners range from cute to tired. But, in Holliday's capable hands the material takes on new life. Watch her delivery, her pauses, her expressions. All pitch-perfect.

Jack Lemmon is fantastic as well. In this and "It Should Happen To You" he and Judy display a great on-screen comic chemistry. They play off each other very well. Lemmon handles his own scenes in his classic style as well. He was truly a joy to watch.

The film also benefits from excellent support by Jack Carson as Lemmon's best friend/bad influence. Kim Novak makes, I believe, her first major appearance in this movie and does well. She's not as polished as she will later be but her appeal is still quite evident.

For me, the movie gets better with repeated viewings. Always a good sign. The mambo scene between Judy and Jack alone is worth the price of admission! Ole!

LEMMON/HOLLIDAY MAKE QUITE A PAIR...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 5 December 2023]

A Jack Lemmon/Judy Holliday comedy from 1954. Lemmon & Holliday are unhappily married & at the film's outset they decide their union is kaput (or the titular expression!) so they go their separate ways. Lemmon a former CPA in the military cries on the shoulder of his best bud, Jack Carson, while Holliday, a soap opera writer/producer, now that she's unattached decides to go out w/one of the actors from her show. Meanwhile Lemmon does the same by going out w/Kim Novack, one of Carson's old arm holders, which goes nowhere so the separated couple, who have remained cordial to each other (hell Lemmon still does Holliday's taxes for her!) have to find other means to keep themselves entertained w/both parties taking up dance lessons (where they steal they show when their respective partners at a club can't keep up w/them & they end up dancing w/each other) & the like but the niggling feeling they've made a colossal mistake slowly seeps in which they'll rectify by film's end or will they? Screenwriter George Axelrod's (The Manchurian Candidate/Lord Love a Duck) humorously poisonous take on the vaulted institution, something that was becoming more commonplace in the 50's, couldn't be more mirthful as our leads make their points cogently but we can see why they needed a break from each other to regroup later on...maybe. The leads are wonderful w/Lemmon (in his second outing w/Holliday after It Should Happen to You which came out the same year) starting to come into his own as a comic performer (which in my opinion Billy Wilder would hone to perfection in their collabs) w/Holliday peerless in every scene.

Benefits from funny Kim Novak supporting performance

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 22 July 2001]

Awfully tired sex farce--made before sex farces actually got sexy--involving a New York lawyer and his inability to swing into the single life after divorcing his TV-writer wife. Written by the usually-reliable George Axelrod, film is beset with hammy humor and a lengthy flashback sequence foisted upon us in the first 12 minutes! Jack Lemmon (in only his second movie, both of which had him co-starring alongside Judy Holliday) is still rather green here, and he has trouble walking that fine line between tragedy and comedy. Holliday is forced, as is Jack Carson playing a wolf. Kim Novak, on the other hand, is perfect doing a Marilyn Monroe impersonation, brightening an otherwise stale bedroom opus. ** from ****

Screwball Remarriage, 50's Style

[mpbesq · 8/10 · 19 January 2007]

Almost all US sex comedies of the 50's & 60's are dated now by a quaint leering approach to sex & marriage, not to mention the costumes, hair, settings. But the remarriage theme will always be ripe for romantic comedy fun. Here, George Axelrod got his start. He later wrote screenplays for "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter," "Breakfast At Tiffany's," "Goodbye Charlie," and in a dark mood, "The Manchurian Candidate." His style is comparable to Preston Sturges, using wit to slice through the social conventions. Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon were a wonderful match. Judy could play an "everywoman" to Jack's "everyman" as in "It Should Happen To You." She could surprise & bedevil him with her mix of ditzines & intelligence. Their comic timing together seems effortlessly perfect. This film should be remembered more fondly.

A little comedy will liven up any marriage

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 20 July 2016]

This is a very good comedy about marriage, divorce and remarriage. Judy Holliday is Nina Tracey (nee Chapman), and Jack Lemmon is her husband Robert. Robert's best friend is Charlie Nelson, played by Jack Carson. They had been officers together in the Navy during WW II. Now they are both attorneys. Kim Novak is Janis, a girl in Charlie's black book whom he lines up with Robert after Robert and Nina get a divorce. The couple had been married eight years but boredom set in and they decided to divorce. This happens early in the film, so that the rest is a nice blend of comedy and romance as Robert and Nina try to adjust and get back in the dating game. Of course, that doesn't work for either one, and romance returns between them. The rest of the small cast are fine in their roles.

This isn't a challenging film or top flight comedy with much witty dialog and situations. But, it's a pleasant story with some fun scenes that most should enjoy.

The cast for "Phffft" is a first rate list of comedy actors in the 1950s. Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday played in some of the best sophisticated comedies of the time, although Holliday's career was a short one. Jack Carson for many years was one of Hollywood's best supporting actors, especially for comedies. He co-starred here along with Kim Novak, in just her third film. Novak was very good and won a Golden Globe as most promising female newcomer.

Holliday had won an Oscar for the comedy-drama "Born Yesterday" of 1950. She had two more smash comedies after that, including another hit with Lemmon in early 1954 – "It Should Happen to You." Holliday made only 14 movies in her career, but won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for film, and a Tony Award on Broadway. The Tony came in 1956 for the Broadway smash hit, "Bells Are Ringing." Holliday's last film was the movie version of "Bells Are Ringing" in 1960. It's a great comedy-musical with Dean Martin, Jean Stapleton and Eddie Foy Jr. Holliday died at age 43 in 1965 after a five year battle with breast cancer.

Jack Lemmon was one of the great actors of the silver screen for nearly five decades. But, he got his start in TV in 1949 and was in several TV series through 1954. Those included dramas and comedies. "Phffft" was just his second movie and followed the smash hit earlier that year with Holliday, "It Should Happen to You." Of course, he would go on to win two Oscars and have six more nominations. He also won four Golden Globes for acting, with another 17 nominations. Lemmon won three BAFTA awards, with four more nominations; and he won two prime time Emmy awards with four more nominations.

Lemmon was equally adept at drama and comedy. Some of the funniest and most endearing comedies he made were later in life and his career with long-time friend Walter Matthau.

Ho-hum, but fun

[ryancm · 5/10 · 4 August 2009]

PHFFT (what a strange title) does belong in the 50's as today it's very dated. In the 50's it was probably considered a little daring. JUDY HOLLIDAY could do no wrong. Here she plays a character somewhat like she'd played in MARRYING KIND and FULL OF LIFE. Not quite as ditzy as her lovable Billie in BORN YESTERDAY, her trademark role, although she stole the Oscar from Gloria Swanson. Oh well. One who is familiar with the writer George Axelrod can certainly see some similarities with SEVEN YEAR ITCH, a far better screenplay. KIM NOVAKS impersonation of MARILYN MONROE is right on and reminds one of the dialogue with TOM EWELL. I guess one can't help to copy one's success. JACK LEMMON is fun and clicks well with HOLLIDAY as he did in IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU. SPOILER ALERT: Even though the film starts off with a divorce between the two leads, one KNOWS they're going to wind up together at the end. THEY DO!!. A great little gem of a performance is by the actor who played the "soap opera" Doctor. His two scenes are gems and should not be overlooked. All in all this is worth a look as part of the JACK LEMMON collection.

Just how many F's are in this title?

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 1 March 2014]

Don't you love it when the title of a film has no vowels? And when it has an exclamation mark, too! It makes pronouncing it even more fun. Never mind spelling it correctly. (And I am usually a decent speller.)

At any rate, Judy Holliday (whose last name I finally learned how to spell) enjoys an easy chemistry with costar Jack Lemmon in this film. She may very well be one of the zaniest comediennes ever. Her expressions, the way she uses her voice, and the mambo dance number where she contorts her body-- make watching this movie almost illegal. Add Kim Novak to the mix as a light-headed chick that Lemmon dates on the rebound from Holliday and you have a criminally good time.

Hatred as bitter as this means only one thing-love.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 3 September 2016]

"I want a divorce!" How many times have these words been spoken in haste and unthinking anger? For divorcing couple Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday, it's going to be a bitter one, and neither party will be able to get the other one off their mind. They each have flashbacks to happier times, alternating between smiling and scowling as they remember the past and what brought them to this point in their lives.

A sudden chance encounter on the mambo dance floor ignites a spark again as they take over the floor with a dance that is both hysterically funny and sexy. There's interference by Lemmon's pal Jack Carson and her mother, with Lemmon distracted by the sultry but over analyzing Kim Novak, only on occasion utilizing that breathy speech pattern that became her trademark. It's a great way to get a film acting career off the ground.

Thus is an adult comedy, one I didn't appreciate when I was in my 20's, but years later, seems smart and really on the money when it comes to describing adult relationships. Only four years older than Lemon, Ms. Holliday has a youthful quality that makes her seem ageless. Lemmon is a perfect leading man for her. It is a shame that they only made two films together. There's no "Phffft!" to their pairing.

Nothing great, but another good comedy for Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon in the same year, and surely an entertaining divorce comedy.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 6/10 · 10 October 2023]

Phffft (1954) : Brief Review -

Nothing great, but another good comedy for Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon in the same year, and surely an entertaining divorce comedy. The idea of a husband and wife trying to get a divorce and bumping into each other sounds so funny. I remember Cary Grant and Irene Dunne's popular flick, "The Awful Truth" (1937), and a couple of more 30s comedies that had the same theme of divorce. Some may not agree, but I believe this idea of divorce works better in the rom-com genre, even though it's contrary to the subject. Negatives attract, they say. Phffft has Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon stamps all over. They had worked together in "It Should Happen to You" in the same year, where Judy's peculiar and eccentric funny character stole the show, despite poor writing in the second half. With Phffft, I can't say that the writing was poor, but it was too typical. It's so plain and ingenious that you don't expect much from the story and rather start focusing on characters and comedy. It's not a bad sign, but from a critic's point of view, I had to mention it here. Phffft is about a husband and wife who get divorced but keep pumping into each other while trying to date a new person in their lives. During the process, they realise that they love each other and cannot leave without each other. However, there is no melodrama to explore the same. It's a pure fun film, and the characters are very light and graceful. That's an unconventional way to make things convincing, I believe. Judy had a blast again, and Jack is fine too. Together, they are better. Watch out for that dance sequence when they collide with each other. It's hilarious. Jack Carson is superb, while glamorous Kim Novak surprises with her bold, sexy, and comic appearance. I don't know if Mark Robson has done something really wrong, but the film slipped a bit somewhere. Nonetheless, a good divorce comedy for sure, and a very good one for Judy-Jack lovers.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Love American Style

[jhkp · 6/10 · 15 May 2023]

One summer night as a high-school-age teen with nothing to do, I watched this movie on TV. I had never seen Judy Holliday before and I suppose part of my enjoyment of the film was discovering how good she was. I already knew Jack Lemmon was good. I thought the film was funny and delightful from start to finish.

At any rate, a lot of years later, I watched Phffft again, and was very disappointed. I really want to see it a third time, now, because I wonder if I was just in a bad mood, or something. I don't understand how my reaction could be so different. I found it dull and slow-moving, and most surprisingly, not very funny. It also looked kind of cheaply made, and it probably was (cheapness being sort of a hallmark of Columbia Pictures, unless it was a big, important film - and even then, sometimes).

I can usually get into an older film and appreciate the humor based on what was humorous then, but I found a lot of the wit too dated to enjoy, and even at times in bad taste (although nothing like the bad taste of some current movie humor).

I like all four of the main actors a lot, so I'm sorry to report I didn't really get into this listless and rather strained marital comedy this time around.

Fate Would Have It

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 7 January 2009]

In an incredible coincidence Phffft marked the second featured role for both Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak. It was also the second time that Lemmon was co-starred with Judy Holliday, the two having made such a hit in his debut feature film, It Should Happen To You. Though I don't think it was as funny as the first one, Phffft definitely got it's share of laughs. And Novak refined her ersatz Marilyn Monroe imitation for Harry Cohn and Columbia Studios.

A seemingly happily married couple Lemmon and Holliday both arrive at the conclusion that they seem to be in a rut after 8 years. So just like that they get themselves divorced.

Lemmon moves in with his old navy buddy Jack Carson who is playing his usual screen lout and starts to live the bachelor life again. Judy goes back to Mom who's an interior decorator and she starts dating as well. But as fate would have it, these two keep running into each other and maybe what they had wasn't so bad after all.

Carson's a great pal, setting up Lemmon with Novak so he can finally make a move on Holliday now that she's free. As for Holliday, she's a writer for NBC and does a soap opera. Her first experience in the dating scene is with the leading man in the show, Donald Curtis. He's making his move on her because first and foremost he wants more of the show to himself and is relying on his leading man charm to see that happens. That's quite a comedown for Holliday, Curtis is very good as the actor quite full of himself.

I guess the ultimate lesson of Phffft is don't mess with the fates.

The case of Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon saved by a whoooshing bed.

[clanciai · 8/10 · 4 March 2019]

Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon proved such an irresistible couple in "Gladys Glover", that another film with them was made the same year. It has its hilarious moments of great fun, especially their first restaurant scene after the divorce, but it lacks the sparkling originality of "Gladys Glover". Kim Novak compensates somewhat for what you lack, her contribution is vital, but on the whole it's no more than a rather casual and superficial comedy, worth seeing of course most of all for Judy Holliday, but the script is not enough to satisfy the interest of the audience the whole way.

odd title

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 14 June 2023]

Nina (Judy Holliday) and Robert Tracey (Jack Lemmon) are a married couple drifting apart. She asks him for a divorce and he immediately agrees. He moves in with his womanizing buddy Charlie Nelson (Jack Carson) and goes on a crazy date with wild Janis (Kim Novak). Nina is doing no better. Both are struggling with new pursuits.

It's an odd title and I can't imagine people trying to say it at the ticket counter during its run. I love both Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday. It's an interesting pairing which really hit in another 1954 movie. They are not always together on the screen. When they are together, there is a comedic potential buzzing. I would like the movie to unleash Judy Holliday a lot more. She gets to do some great wacky comedy, but I want more. Kim Novak is actually a little funny. She's essentially doing her version of Judy Holliday, but not as well. Nina and Bobby are not necessarily a perfect couple, but they do fit each other. If they spend more time together, their chemistry could really shine through.

*sound of expressing skepticism*

[jamesjustice-92 · 10/10 · 26 April 2022]

They say marriage puts an end to romance. And once it's over - swoosh! And you're living together out of habit without even realizing that your feelings towards your partner are gone. And usually after that the divorce comes knocking at your door and you gladly let in such a guest of honor. The only question is - what's next? I'll tell you in a minute.

This fine romantic comedy stars Jack Lemmon in one of his first leading roles and an exceptionally beautiful Judy Holliday and the name of the movie is "Phffft". No, I'm not hissing or spitting - this is really the name of the movie which roughly translates as "a sound of expressing skepticism or uncertainty". To tell you the truth, that was one of the reasons this movie attracted my attention so much; this and Jack Lemmon of course. Since I first saw him in "Some like it hot" he has become one of my favorite actors ever and "Phffft" only proves it.

The movie begins with a couple getting a divorce after eight years of marriage. And really, what could happen next? You've devoted a great part of your life to one person, cherishing, caring, sometimes arguing and sometimes being a pain in the ass but it was a big chapter of your life that you're not ready to let go that easily, or is it just me? I think when people are so long together they've abandoned romance and love they do not need to immediately file for divorce - they both need to remember what brought them this far in the first place. Is it marriage that's to blame or the whole relationship? I think in many cases people just can't tell one from the other and that's what killing the romance.

"Phffft" is a masterpiece simply because it answers all of your questions about a relationship that you didn't even know you needed answers to. The chemistry between Jack and Judy is undeniable; they live in their roles to the fullest. Running at only 88 minutes it leaves you wanting to press "replay" and watch it again, and again, and again...

First-Rate Fluff

[dougdoepke · 5 September 2011]

I love that scene where the phony doctor and nurse keep upstaging each other while on TV. What a sparkling little comedy from two of the best comedic actors of the time —Holliday and Lemmon. Holliday is less pixilated than usual, but then she does play a TV writer. Lemmon also has fewer tics than usual, but that doesn't hamper the laughs at all. They play a married couple who divorce when he prefers reading second-rate Mickey Spillane to her. Of course, once divorced, they pine for each other following a series of comedic misadventures.

That manic dance number alone is worth the price of admission. I just hope they did it in one take, otherwise get out the respirator. Then too the "whooshing" bed proves a great bit of comedic inspiration. Note how its whooshing back and forth becomes innuendo in that flashback scene where they first meet. And what a cutely appropriate final whoosh to the movie as a whole.

A lot of credit should go to ace screenwriter Axelrod, who devises a series of amusing episodes where Nina (Holliday) and Robert (Lemmon) try to out-do one another in the I'm-so-over-you department. He grows a mustache and gets a sports car, while she does what any woman is expected to do—she gets a new wardrobe. Meanwhile, that expert performer Jack Carson lends first-rate actorly support but questionable best-friend advice; at the same time, Kim Novak gets into the swing with a vivacious party-girl performance.

All in all, the set-ups wear well despite the years. Sure, it's only well done fluff. Still, I'm just sorry there weren't more Holliday-Lemmon pairings, since their styles blend so perfectly as this movie so humorously demonstrates.

Early Lemmon Recital

[Cristi_Ciopron · 8/10 · 13 January 2008]

One can say that this role set the direction of Lemmon's career—establishing him as an able lead in sex comedies. This one is a screwball of a very delicious finesse and elegance and sense of fun. The cast is above all expectations—Lemmon, keeping his character in a nuanced and subtle form. This early Lemmon recital is finely matched by the comedy's nature—a sharp and palatable one. More important—there is this timeless elegance that prevents the movie from being dated.

You know what is does? It enhances the appetite for life and love. Some call this feel—good cinema. Each frame, each scene is somehow delicious and first—hand—a lot of talent displayed and intelligently used ,with a sort of an instinct for the good cinematography. It addresses an audience that was more apt to perceive the values of an urbane chic civilization. In this respect, it's not a bit phony. It doesn't pretend to be sophisticated and urban; it is.

Mrs. Novak plays a stupid blonde. She has two very long scenes with Lemmon. Needless to say that she was amazingly beautiful in this film as well.

In a few words, Phffft! (1954) has naturalness, flair, gusto, an enviable purity of line in its comic finesse. It is charming and surprisingly funny and good—natured. It's certainly better and more charming than many of the things Lemmon made later.

Much of what's good is already there: Lemmon's bizarre laughter; the content and direction of the characters from his future comedies—the social class, men with money, that can afford drinks and fancy bars, etc.; the style—his refined vitality. All three actors (Lemmon,Mme. Judy Holliday,Mme. Novak) give this impression of vitality, of robustness and vitality.

Elegant, sophisticated, Lemmon's character is created with an exquisite skill, and it's a stylistic achievement. The fact that, three decades later, his place was taken by W. Allen's characters as sophisticated male leads measures the entire gap between two lifestyles. (Not in the sense that W. Allen somehow continued Lemmon's line—he obviously did not—it would be grotesque and absurd to suggest that. On the contrary—what happened was that Lemmon's type was replaced with W. Allen's—that Lemmon's form of sophisticated urban comic was replaced ….) The times replaced Lemmon with W. Allen, with Gere and Cruise and H. Grant and others; the fact requires no comments.

One subtly remarked that Lemmon's finesse reminds that of H. Fonda.

Phffft! (1954) was made in '54—the year of It Should Happen to You (1954),and one year before Mister Roberts (1955) and My Sister Eileen (1955). Now for many movie buffs the '50s are the decade of the Actors' Studio stars—Dean, Brando, Newman, etc.. But the '50s meant also the rise of this fine actor;Lemmon is the other, cuter, nicer face of the '50s—and, paradoxically, maybe the more true one.

In a list of screwball comedies, Phffft! (1954) wasn't even included; though it's, aesthetically, one of the most important achievements in this genre. I liked it more than Bell, Book and Candle (1958); and …but dare I say it? I liked it more than Some Like It Hot (1959). It's less mechanic, more charming, less perfect technically—but more inspired and gracious. It is discretely humane in a way that only these nonchalant comedies can afford being. It is genuine fun.

It is particularly pleasing to see that such a comedy knows exactly what it sets itself up to—hence, the flawless taste and the purity of line. If you have an enormous appetite for quality comedies, this one comes as a treat. And everybody on set was obviously interested in doing his best. So you have competence allied to inspiration. It is unpretentious yet good cinema.

Lemmon effortlessly (I assume) embodied the genuine hedonism and egoism of a certain social class in the aftermath of WW2. His character is usually basically nice yet egoist and hedonist in a profoundly selfish way. A little sly--boots ,also. Later, he deepened and explored this character and followed his fluctuations in the social history that followed the merry youthful '50s. Maybe it's the hedonism that defines him best. Like the demoniac side that Lemmon explored in a few humorous films, this egoistic side of his character established the behavior deployed in the many sex—comedies he made.

It would not be exaggerated to say that this comedy is a document from a lost civilization. It showcases a certain image of the stylish '50s—it does so with charm and finesse.

Early Lemmon recital ;it gains by finesse, naturalness and nonchalant charm

Phffft! (1954) is a fantastically enjoyable film—and artistically and in every way more profound than the crap Hollywood is making today.

It might make one love Judy Holliday if he did not already--or,to love her even more.

Hilarious dance scene

[artqua · 8/10 · 22 March 2024]

I loved Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday in It Should Happen to You, and this film is almost as charming. The plot is simple, but the character development and relentless humor make it work, in my opinion. The supporting actor, Jack Carson, is convincing as the best friend/misogynistic smarmy boss and playboy. The mambo dance scene is a one not to be missed! Of course, Jack Lemmon was able to play a variety of characters, but he was great in comedies. Judy Holliday had a limited run due to her short life, but I became a fan and want to see everything she has done. I don't know where this movie has been on my life!