A plot with a quirky twist, insightful and humorous dialogue plus outstanding acting by Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, all make Some Like It Hot to be remarkably ahead of its times, providing both timeless laughs and sly gender commentary. It is the best comedy black and white film I`ve seen to date. A truly great comedy not only makes you laugh, but also can make you sad and encourage deep thought. In this aspect, Billy Wilder has reached a high degree of excellence in Some Like It Hot.
Everything happens because of a shooting. Two poor musicians, Joe(Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), witness a shooting by mob boss Spats after they lose their jobs. In order to get a job and avoid the murder from Chicago, they disguise themselves as women and play with an all-girl band, Sweet Sue`s band. They meet a sexy girl, Sugar(Marilyn Monroe), who is dreaming of marrying a millionaire. Joe falls in love with Sugar immediately. In Florida, Joe disguises himself as a millionaire to chase Sugar. Meanwhile, Osgood Fielding, a real millionaire, has fallen in love with “Daphne”(Jerry). Finally they escape from the mob, Joe throws away his disguise and gains Sugar`s love. The ending is a conversation between Jerry and Osgood. It sounds funny the first time. The most famous dialogue is from the ending which make millions of people feel pity and to rethink the nature of love and life. Life never runs as your plan.
Tony and Jack`s acting really shock viewers. Their excellent acting makes cross-dressing look so natural and pretty. When they disguise themselves as Joesphine and Daphne to join the band and when they play instruments with girls, viewers may already believe that they are girls. The active body language and exaggerated facial expressions of Jack Lemmon create most funs which let him gain best actor award. Jack Lemmon must be the most beautiful lady among men and the most manly among ladies. Then Monroe continues her mysteries sexiness , which is also a shinning point of this film. Monroe has the ability to mix innocence and sexiness in playing the role of sugar. When she has a drink with Joe in the train, she is as naïve as the girl next door. When she is singing on the stage, she is like a sex queen. However, compared with the two male actors, Monroe`s performance matches the level of the first supporting role. There is no difference with her former films.
Plot and dialogue are two main outstanding points of this comedy. Fate always makes joke with them. At first, Joe hopes to earn their living from gambling, but they lose everything. They wish to escape the mob in Chicago, but they meet and are discovered by Spats in Florida. Sugar dreams to marrying a man who has millions, glasses and a yacht, but she falls in love with a poor musician. Osgood is a real millionaire , but she loves Daphne, who unfortunately is a guy. Life is always undesirable. As what Spats says the last moment when he was killed by the man in his birthday cake: big joke.
Most people love the ending dialogue of Some Like It Hot, as do I. The first time I laugh for Osgood`s insistence. Second time I am moved by Osgood`s love. Third time, it really upset me. It would be a perfect ending if Jerry is a girl. Life is really a big joke. Even if Osgood doesn`t care if she smokes, think natural blonde doesn`t matter, forgives she is been living with others, accept they won`t have child, it can`t change one thing: She is a guy. To set off by contrast, director gave an extremely warm and moving dialogue to a tragedy ending.
However, some plots are not so logical. Osgood`s love is a little sudden and hard to explain. As a millionaire, he can get many real girls easily. Why does he only love a fake girl? What`s more, the attitude of jerry to disguise as a girl is also full of contradictions. Firstly, Jerry is averse to pretending to be a girl. But after dancing with Osgood, he already accepted Osgood`s engagement which even surprises Jack. How can Jerry change his attitude in one night? Maybe there are too many clues in this film that sometimes make viewers confused.
There is no doubt that Some Like It Hot is classic and revolutionary in the history of film. Actors also become the focus of America due to this film. Jack Lemmon gains best actor award, Monroe saves her decreasing popularity, Billy Wilder increases his reputation, cross-dressing film becomes a popular topic. Although this comedy brings so many successes, the real relationship between Monroe and other actors is not so fun. Jack Lemmon said he won`t cooperate with Monroe any longer, Billy Wilder rejected to appraise her acting. These are all result by Monroe`s several mental diseases and bad attitude in work. The process of a comedy is a tragedy.
Billy wilder uses comedy to sneer at that reality does not accord with hopes. Life is a big joke, all of us are part of it. There is no need to complain or upset, because nobody is perfect, as well as our life.
外教的期中作业，贴一下保存。
以后选colin课需谨慎，影评写死你丫的...T.T
