When two 1920's jazz musicians (Lemmon plays bass fiddle and Curtis plays sax) witness a fictional version of the St. Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago garage, they are desperate to flee the state. With no cash, and money owed all over town, they make decide to join an all female band, requiring them to dress in drag and pretend to be female musicians. It's hysterical from the very beginning and only gets better. The band includes a sultry blonde singer, played by Monroe, who just happens to have a thing for saxophone players.
The train ride to Florida is filled with mishaps and laughter, but is nothing compared to the antics once the group arrives at their hotel. Lemmon's character is besieged by a millionaire playboy portrayed by the fabulous Joe E. Brown. Curtis steals a suitcase full of men's resort clothes to sneak around and pretend to be a millionaire himself in hopes of winning Monroe.The boys think they are safe in Florida, far away from the mob back in Chicago and once they make a little money, they plan to get even further away. But the best laid plans often go awry, and they certainly do when it comes to classic comedy! I won't tell you the ending, but trust me, you'll laugh.
Jack Lemmon is considered one of the very best comedic actors of our time and you can certainly see why in this film. Combined with the genius of director Billy Wilder, the famous maraca scene will make you laugh out loud. Curtis' hammed-up imitation of Cary Grant is a riot and a delight to watch. Together, the pair is pure comedy gold. And Monroe is at her all-time best, including her classic version of "I Want To Be Loved By You". Timing is everything in comedy, and the whole cast has it down pat. There are some running jokes that are cute and clever and will stay with you. The AFI lists this movie as the best movie comedy of all time and I can't argue with them.
Now, I know some of you might not care for black and white movies. You think they're too old fashioned or not interesting enough because there's no color, but trust me, you are missing out on some of the best film ever recorded if you restrict yourself to color movies only. Once you get into this movie, you won't even notice or care about it being black and white. It's that good. It was nominated for Best Picture for 1960 (it lost to Ben-Hur), but it won a Golden Globe for Best Comedy and Lemmon and Monroe won Golden Globes for it as well.
When I first saw this movie, I thought it was weird seeing two men dressed up as women. I loved the part when Jack Lemmon invited all of the girls to his bed on the train for a little party. I also thought it ws cute when Tony Curtis was immitating Cary Grant. The costumes are wonderful, even Lemmon and Curtis' drag make up and dresses. I thought the songs Marilyn sang were very pretty. Also, I like the scene when Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe were on a ship, having dinner, and making out.
I give this movie two thumbs up.
PARENTS SHOULD KNOW: There is a scene where two characters kiss on a couch, no sexual activity. Some sexual innuendo and play with sexual identity in the dialogue. There's some violence, we only hear an off-screen shooting of a machine gun killing minor characters. The only profanity is some of the crass expressions said by some characters. There's lots of smoking. And there's lots of drinking and references to alcohol.
DID YOU KNOW? Bob Hope and Danny Kaye (White Christmas) were considered for the leading men. Jerry Lewis was also considered, but turned down the role because he didn't want to be in drag. The working title of this film was "Not Tonight, Josephine". Tony Curtis' voice as Josephine was dubbed by voice actor Paul Fress. According to Jack Lemmon, George Raft spent hours teaching him and Joe E. Brown to tango.
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