With the kind of credits this movie boasts, (let's just say anybody
who was anybody at the time seems to have been involved), "Adam's Rib"really ought to have been better than it is. That's not to say there's
anything wrong with it; it's certainly no dud but it's amiable at best
rather than hilarious or even particularly captivating. This is the
kind of comedy that wears its intelligence and its 'sophistication' like
a badge of merit.
It's the one about the husband and wife
team
of attorneys, (Tracy and Hepburn), who find themselves on opposing
sides, both in and out of court, when he has to prosecute a woman
charged with attempted murder, (she shot her cheating husband), while
she decides to defend her. The defendant is Judy Holliday and she's
terrific, (a year later she would win the Oscar for Best Actress). The
husband she shoots is Tom Ewell and the rest of the cast includes Jean
Hagen, David Wayne and Hope Emerson, (all of them superb). It was
written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and it is full of good, smart
lines. Cukor was the director and even Cole Porter got in on the act
with the song 'Amanda', so it's certainly not lacking in talent. Why
then isn't it a classic? If it had been messier it might have been more
fun. Good then but not great.
With the kind of credits this movie boasts, (let's just say anybody
who was anybody at the time seems to have been involved), "Adam's Rib"really ought to have been better than it is. That's not to say there's
anything wrong with it; it's certainly no dud but it's amiable at best
rather than hilarious or even particularly captivating. This is the
kind of comedy that wears its intelligence and its 'sophistication' like
a badge of merit.
It's the one about the husband and wife team
of attorneys, (Tracy and Hepburn), who find themselves on opposing
sides, both in and out of court, when he has to prosecute a woman
charged with attempted murder, (she shot her cheating husband), while
she decides to defend her. The defendant is Judy Holliday and she's
terrific, (a year later she would win the Oscar for Best Actress). The
husband she shoots is Tom Ewell and the rest of the cast includes Jean
Hagen, David Wayne and Hope Emerson, (all of them superb). It was
written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and it is full of good, smart
lines. Cukor was the director and even Cole Porter got in on the act
with the song 'Amanda', so it's certainly not lacking in talent. Why
then isn't it a classic? If it had been messier it might have been more
fun. Good then but not great.
No comments:
Post a Comment