The Philadelphia Story

[Michael]

The DVD finally arrived. My partner and I watched it last night. It was first time for him and he summed up in a few words: "the key to achieving happiness and true love is getting very drunk". I'm not sure if he liked it or not but I will ask him later. To me, PS is still as magnificent as I remember seeing it years ago. How gorgeous Kate looked. I paid close attention to Kate's character's development. In the beginning she seems to be selfish - so full of herself. She has too much pride to admit or recognize her weaknesses but all that is changed by the end as the "ice maiden" slowly melts into what she's finally calls herself a "human being". She gets to where Dexter got to before he re-enters her life. Dexter was a drunk before they split up as the stunning opening scene shows. But it's obvious that Dexter matures somehow during the split and Kate does the same during the film.

Tonight we will be watching Bringing Up Baby.. first time for both of us.

[zedz]

Tonight we will be watching Bringing Up Baby.. first time for both of us.

Lucky guys! I'd love to hear what you think of it (probably my favourite sound comedy).

[Michael]

Well, my partner Pedro and I have opposite opinions of Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby. He adored Baby, calling it a brilliantly energetic, exquisite masterpiece that holds up shockingly well today. I thought it was cute and silly. The film would be so blah without Kate and Cary whose chemistry together really made the film glitter. Midway through the film, Pedro (not knowing much about Kate) asked me if she was lesbian in real life.

zedz, what is about Baby that made you embrace it as your favorite sound comedy? My favorite comedy is Waiting for Guffman. I'll never forget watching Guffman with my family a few Thanksgivings ago and I was the only one who cracked up nonstop. They couldn't figure out what was so funny about this film. They took it as a tragedy.. a serious drama! Plus I could never get enough of Parker Posey.

Pedro didn't care for Philadelphia Story. He said unlike Baby, it felt musky old. He also claimed that every dialogue felt forced and cringed every time a character entered the scene in a too-perfect, too-obvious manner, providing an unfortunate stagey feeling to the film.

But at least we both went crazy over Now, Voyager that we saw last week for the first time - so breathtaking, flourishing that happens only in Hollywood. Beautiful music playing thorough. Bette's incredibly believable and soulful performance. An utterly magnificent romance complete with two good-byes at the airport and the train station! Thinking about starting a thread devoted to this film.

Do you like Philadelphia Story, zedz?

[zedz]

Well, my partner Pedro and I have opposite opinions of Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby. He adored Baby, calling it a brilliantly energetic, exquisite masterpiece that holds up shockingly well today. I thought it was cute and silly. The film would be so blah without Kate and Cary whose chemistry together really made the film glitter.

Definitely silly, and definitely cute, but all of the performances are magnificent. Actually, I can't think of a great Hawks film in which the characterisations and performances are not the best thing on display - it's what turns Only Angels Have Wings from a formulaic drama into a masterpiece and saves To Have and Have Not from being a muddled, inconsequential mess. I love the fact that in this film the humour is rooted in (outrageous) character: Cary and Kate are hilarious caricatures in their own right (her 'hard boiled' act at the end of the film always has me laughing out loud), but sparking off one another those caricatures lift the film into a fourth dimension. Plus there are entirely different comic combustions when you bring in the supporting cast: Cary and Charlie Ruggles is an entirely different, but equally funny, kettle of fish, as is Cary and May Robson - and Kate and May - and Charlie and May - and Cary and Asta - and Kate and Asta. The film is so rich in different comic textures.

And that's just the character stuff! There's also priceless comic timing and physical humour (Cary's hat on Kate's arse), visual gags and surreal, time-twisting sui generis moments (Cary's explanation for his bizarre attire, or the great moment when, defeated, he makes the "waiting for a bus" comment).

As with a lot of my favourite films, there are less stellar bits that I happily overlook. The "with you in a minute, Mr Peabody" routine is overdone, and not that funny to begin with, but it's surrounded by great bits of business; the drunk gardener schtick was pretty stale even in the 30s; and the collapsing climax is a shade too silly even for me (but that's probably the price you pay for a spectacular punctuating visual).

And, tellingly, it's a film that, because so much of its humour is based in character and comic timing, remains funny on multiple viewings. I don't know if it's the funniest film I've ever seen (and I don't know if any film I've seen has the cumulative hilarity of, say, The Day Today), but it's my second favourite comedy behind the even-more-inexhaustible The General.

My favorite comedy is Waiting for Guffman. I'll never forget watching Guffman with my family a few Thanksgivings ago and I was the only one who cracked up nonstop. They couldn't figure out what was so funny about this film. They took it as a tragedy.. a serious drama! Plus I could never get enough of Parker Posey.

The Guest films are definitely high on my personal laughometer (if pushed, I might have to nominate Jennifer Coolidge's surreal turn in A Mighty Wind as the funniest screen performance I know - too dumb to hum!), but I'm less impressed with them as whole pieces of cinema (rather than strings of terrific improv), an impression probably exacerbated by them all following the same putting-on-a-show template.

Do you like Philadelphia Story, zedz?

Yes, but I'm definitely more into pure screwball from the period (e.g. His Girl Friday, The Awful Truth) - more anarchic and distinctive, with no socially redeeming features (PS still has the air of serious drama).

Further to Now, Voyager, I'd recommend Dark Victory if you haven't seen it. It's been years since I have, but it remains the most devastating 'weepie' I know.

[Michael]

Further to Now, Voyager, I'd recommend Dark Victory if you haven't seen it. It's been years since I have, but it remains the most devastating 'weepie' I know.

We also recently watched another fantastic film Humoresque with Joan Crawford and John Garfield - many thanks to davidhare for recommending this film to me personally. Yhere's a very rich gay text begging to to be unearthed and explored in this film and also Now, Voyager. I hope there are fans of those two films on this forum.

[Michael]

Since receiving and watching the DVD last week, every single day the film keeps calling me back to watch it again. I've seen it 5 times already and after each time, I return to everything I wrote about this film on this thread and every word keeps growing more embarrasing and comical. Every time I watch it, it keeps getting richer.

I really like this review from Slant