“Well, nobody’s perfect” is that last line of one of the greatest films, comedy or otherwise, ever released. A hit with critics and audiences, ‘Some Like it Hot’ is a cinema delight from writer/director Billy Wilder. Nominated for Oscars, still on Sight & Sound’s list of Greatest Films ever, this comedy is funny and inspiring. A classic that deserves your attention that you might have missed!
1959’s ‘Some Like it Hot’ was voted the "funniest American movie" by the AFI on its "100 Years...100 Laughs" and is rated in the top 100 on IMDB. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon play two 1930s era musicians that accidentally witness a gangland slaying. They go "on the lam" and pose as members of an all-girl band. Since they are both very much not girls this requires a great deal of make-up, voice changing and wardrobe enhancements. Marilyn Monroe shows off her comic talents, and her great bod, as Sugar Kane, the band's singer.
Actor Joe E. Brown does a terrific job as an international playboy who develops quite the attraction to the very confused Jack Lemmon (in his female persona). Tony Curtis becomes enamored with Ms. Monroe but, of course, cannot tell her his true gender because of the mobsters on their tail. Madcap and zany fun is had by all!
Wonderful performance throughout. Along with Curtis, Lemmon, Brown and Monroe look for screen icons like George Raft and Pat O’Brien. The script, by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, is entertaining and was nominated for an Oscar. The final line “Well, nobody’s perfect” is also on the AFI list of greatest film lines of all-time. The dialogue is crisp, the action frenetic, the acting superb and the direction fabulous. Everything you could want to guarantee a fun-filled two hours!
‘Some Like it Hot’ won an academy award for the costumes. Putting Curtis and Lemmon in drag was no small feat. Both were attractive leading men used to getting the ladies, not being one. But I, audiences, critics and the AFI loved the transformation. And this movie.
The Hays code was a set of rules to force Hollywood to make “appropriate” movies. ‘Some Like it Hot’, because it featured men in women’s code, was not made under the code nor approved by the Hays Commission before its release. That led to it being banned in some parts of the country. It was a huge success and helped to bring about an end to the censorship of the Hays Code. Just one more reason to love this classic.
Enjoy it on MAX or Hulu with a subscription or at the usual places for rent/purchase.
Side note: In 1989 the National Film Registry was created by Congress. The Registry is a collection of films chosen for their historic, cultural and aesthetic contributions. ‘Some Like it Hot’ was one of the first 25 films selected to be preserved.
Personally I think at least Tony Curtis could pull off being a girl!