Some Like It Hot
might be an appropriate title for this 1959 comedy from Ashton Productions and
The Mirisch Corporation. With the heated
chases, steamy romances and hot comedy director Billy Wilder does an excellent
job of keeping his audience laughing it up throughout the 120 minutes of the
movie. The film features some big name
actors such as Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as the main
characters. The film does wonders in the
area of narrative and music making it an amusing piece for the whole family to
watch. It contains cheap laughs and
exquisite puns for all ages; however it also contains deep sociopolitical
undertones which were especially progressive for the time period. The film does lack in the acting of some of
the secondary characters but this does little to dampen the quality of the
film. This film deserves a high rating
for its music/sound and its narrative/dialogue however its lack of any
impressing cinematography in combination with the unimpressive acting by some
of the secondary characters leads me to give the film a rating of 8/10. This film was not rated and can be watched in
both its original black and white version or in a more modern colorized
version.
In Some like it hot a couple of musicians
who are down on their luck during the tough times of the prohibition become
hunted by the local mafia when they bear witness to a crime. In need to get away from the city but also
completely broke, the duo decides to dress up as ladies and join an all women
band in route to Miami, FL. In their
long journey the two will learn that it is not easy being a woman in a man’s
world. When their trip gets more and
more complicated the two friends are placed in countless situations where
comedy is not lacking, and neither are the wondering hands. Will they finally escape the mob? Will they
be able to return to being men? And most importantly, how do they walk on those
heels? To answer those questions you will have to watch this film which is all
about the laughs, the awkward moments and the excitement.
Like
every film this one is a mixture of various things from cinematography to acting;
however what comes through the most out of this film is its music and sound
effects, but let’s leave those for last.
There are a few things that are part of this film but are either not of
note or sincerely just not very good. The
most prominent disappointment of the film is the lack of acting ability in part
of a handful of the secondary actors. The
most blatant example of this is the scene where toothpick Charlie is “rubbed
out”, in this reviewers opinion his death is less than believable and a little
over dramatic. On the other hand the
acting from the main characters is spectacular, they make you laugh until you
drop and at points you even forget Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are actually
men. The cinematography on this film is
average, which is to be expected since it is not the main focus. There are a few above average uses of the
camera such as the use of a low angle right before the two broke musicians go
betting being switched to a high angle when they lose everything; apart for a
few of those however the cinematography is nothing of note. Along with this most of the lighting in the
film is natural light (usually from the sun) so again there is nothing to note
there. Where the film really starts to
get interesting is when we start to look into the costumes and props. You have to admit that making two full grown
men into convincing women is a feat to be admired even with today’s amazing
makeup, so imagine doing it in 1959.
With just the use of dresses, wigs, hats, jewelry and what I’m guessing
was a truckload of waxing wax, the wardrobe department for the movie (headed by
Bert Henrikson) manages two turn these two actors into very convincing women. Costumes however are not the only thing that
make the movie; let’s shift our focus into the true component that makes this
such a good movie, the music and sound.
The sound
department headed by Fred Lau and the music by Adolph Deutsch are what truly
place this film in its above average rating.
Most of the sound effects in this film are synchronous with the action
in the frame and have a top quality mixing.
These sounds are often ambient noises that are part of the scene but are
obviously added post production.
However, these ambient noises do serve a purpose other than to fill in silence;
this film is very adept at using the ambient noise to remind us where we
are. There are various scenes in the film
where we are in modes of transportation that resemble regular rooms very
closely, such as the train and the yacht, and if it weren’t for the adept use
of ambient noises such as the wheels of the train or the waves hitting the
yacht we might forget exactly where he scene takes place. Sound also have other more obvious uses in
this film that add to its cinematography and to the comedy. Often noises are used as sound bridges
between scenes, now this is very normal of films but in Some Like It Hot the scenes are more so connected through the use
of noise mimicking such as when Jerry repeats “I’m a girl, I’m a girl….” This
slowly fades into the rhythm of the train and then Segway us into the next
scene. Sound is also used to very
adeptly enhance the comedic effect of some scenes. The best example of this is when Jerry says
to Joe “I think I’m going to be sick…” and right at this point he goes out of
shot and we hear what sound like someone throwing up, but when the camera pans
out we see it is actually the gasoline tank overflowing. Moments like this show a true mastery of the
use of sound in the part of the sound department and a collaboration with the
cinematography department. The music in
this film is also of top quality which is shown through many factors. Firstly the music is very appropriate for the
era, something that is sometimes lost when a film has a diegetic score written specifically
for the movie. The use of the music is
also expertly done when the score is non-diegetic, the music helps us get a
better image of the situation when there is no dialogue (such as the fast,
hectic music when Joe changes from a women to a man) but it fades out and does
not overpower the dialogue when this one begins. The best use of music in the film however
happens when the score is diegetic and the main characters are the source. Whether it contains lyrics or not the music
is a medium for the feeling of the character to be projected onto the audience. The best example of this happens toward the
end of the film when we see Sugar singing “I’m Thorough with Love” after she
has had her heartbroken, and we can truly feel her sorrow from the melody. This great use of music as a medium for
emotions is what puts Some Like It Hot into
a special place in film history.
The
three main actors in this film all truly deserve a special mention in this
review. Marilyn Monroe, a well-known
star, who plays Sugar Kane does an amazing job of bringing her character to
life. Everything from her dialogue to
her mannerisms convince us that Sugar is no more than this naïve and innocent
girl who is just trying to keep her head above water in such a crazy
world. Monroe in my opinion plays the
perfect innocent blonde girl and for that she is to be applauded. Tony Curtis (Joe) and Jack Lemmon (jerry) on
the other hand are the perfect comedic duo.
Curtis plays a perfect devious and strong cheapskate while Lemmon is
perfect at playing the wacky and spineless sidekick. Between their witty banter that carries this
natural chemistry and their amazingly hilarious facial expressions these two
can make a church mouse die of laughter in the middle of a service.
Because
of its amazing use of sound and music along with it’s incredible acting by the
main characters I give Some Like It Hot an 8/10 rating. This movie will make you cry from laughter or
from the pain we feel coming from Sugar singing about her broken heart. The amazing work with the costumes for such an
early movie just puts this one over the top giving it that realism that we seek
in all films. Overall I highly recommend
watching this film with the family so everyone can enjoy its comedy.
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