[9]
Two Chicago musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) try to evade mobsters by disguising themselves as women and joining an all-girl band on its way to perform at a Florida resort. Both men fall in love with the band’s boozy vocalist (Marilyn Monroe), but romantic overtures prove difficult in drag. Curtis eventually dons another persona, that of a playboy oil baron, to woo Monroe. Meanwhile, Lemmon gets stuck trying to keep a tenacious gentleman suitor (Joe E. Brown) at bay. Just as their relationships reach an impasse, the mobsters show up for a screwball finale.
Some Like It Hot is one of the most enduring comedies of its era, featuring lively performances from its three leading actors, a witty and well-paced script, and great directing by the masterful Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity). Many comedies wind up feeling hindered by plot, but Wilder and his co-writers manage a lengthy second act in which the mobster narrative is nearly forgotten about, giving Lemmon, Curtis, and Monroe plenty of time and legroom to charm the audience. And when the villains do return, Wilder ratchets up the madcap antics to a fever pitch and ends the film on its very best joke.
A lot of the fun in this movie is watching two men try to act like women, a concept that reaches its peak when Lemmon’s character forgets that he’s really a man. The scene in which he tells Curtis that he’s engaged to Brown’s character and considering a honeymoon in Niagara Falls is one of the film’s funniest. Curtis is at his best when he plays the phony oil baron with an allegedly dead libido. He uses an odd accent for that persona that sounds remarkably like Cary Grant. And Monroe bounces through this film like a cool breeze. It’s not hard to believe these two men would risk blowing their cover for her, because she dazzles the audience just as thoroughly. Wilder gives her two memorable song numbers, including the breathy number, “I Wanna Be Loved You” (boop-boop-a-doop) — a beautiful grace note scene in a film full of them.
This is one of those films that fires on all cylinders. A great script, great acting, great directing, beautiful cinematography, a little romance, and a lot of laughs. If I had to criticize it, I think perhaps the first half-hour could be a little more condensed. But otherwise, I think this is an excellent ‘gateway’ film for any young person interested in exploring films made before they were born. Even with all the social change we’ve experienced over the past sixty-five years, Some Like It Hot is still very human and remarkably timeless.
With Pat O’Brien and George Raft as the head mobster villain. Al Breneman is uncredited but very memorable as a short, young bellhop determined to get Tony Curtis’s ‘Josephine’ into bed.
Academy Award: Best Black & White Costume Design (Orry-Kelly)
Oscar Nominations: Best Actor (Jack Lemmon), Director, Adapted Screenplay, Black & White Cinematography, Black & White Art Direction