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A pretty meek and long-winding drama with some soft comedy intertwined. There are a few scenes that are quite fun and amusing, but the whole is pretty dated and with a running time crossing the 120-minute barrier, it takes a little too much effort to get to the end of it. This one is only for the fans of commercial classic Hollywood.
Another simple, classic comedy from Leo McCarey. It hinges its bets on the Grant/Dunne combination and hopes for the best, which is nice if you're a fan of this type of screwball comedy I guess. Personally, I could do without the endless quips and somewhat annoying situational humor. Jerry and Lucy are a couple destined for divorce. There's no trust between them and all they ever do is fight with each other. While they're waiting for their divorce to get finalized, they already start making new wedding plans, but neither one is willing to let the other get their life back on track so soon. Soon to be divorced people trying to mess with each other's lives isn't a very funny premise, Grant and Dunne are quite stiff and the dialogue-driven comedy simply isn't all that funny. At least the pacing is decent and the runtime is short, but there's nothing memorable here and I'm sure I'll have forgotten all about it by tomorrow.Read all
McCarey isn't the worst of the classic directors, but he's at his best when he sticks to silly cheese. Ruggles of Red Gap is exactly that, a simple comedy about a clash of cultures. It's not a great film by any measure, but at least it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. Whatever drama there is, is exploited for laughs. The performances are okay and the tone is light throughout, but the jokes are pretty bland and the presentation is dull as can be. The lead character isn't much fun either, so it's all quite forgettable. I've seen worse classics, but I'm sure I won't remember this one for long.Read all
McCarey is well known for directing comedies, if you read up on Make Way for Tomorrow you may notice it's often categorized as one. I didn't really get that from this film though. Sure enough there are lighter moments, but it's mostly a drama about generational differences. And not a very pleasant one at that. The performances are pretty weak, the characters are cardboard and the drama is either timeless or chewed up, depending on your personal preference. For me, it was clearly the latter. A long-winded drama that felt a lot longer that its 90-minute runtime would suggest, certainly not my favorite McCarey.Read all
Contrary to what the title wanted me to believe, this is an affair I'll quickly forget. McCarey delivers an incredibly stuffy and old-fashioned romance that feels at least a decade(if not two) older than its release date. And if that wasn't enough, there's even a children's choir, singing songs. Ugh. Grant and Kerr are incredibly stiff, the cinematography is boring as hell, the colors are dull and muted and the soundtrack is an absolute eye-sore (even without the choir). It's a very dialogue-heavy film, which sucks when you don't care about any of the characters or their troubled romance. Very bad.Read all