Some Like It Hot (1959) - Set in Prohibition two musicians flee Chicago to avoid the threat of the mob after seeing a St. Valentine's Day Massacre style murder. They flee to Florida dressed as women in an all girl band. One of the funniest movies of all times ensues.
Where to even start with this one? Written and directed by one of the greats of all time, Billy Wilder. A cast that is top flight from top to bottom. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon (who would win an Oscar nomination for this role) top the billing with equally fabulous actors in supporting roles (George Raft, Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien, Nehemiah Persoff). Wilder's writing is sparkling as always and holds up amazingly well. In it's time it was very controversial because of the cross dressing aspect of the story line. It was condemned by the National League of Decency and banned in Kansas. Eventually it was one of the reasons that the archaic Production Code was eliminated.
Wilder has his usual fun taking shots at the powerful, Monroe is at her sultry sexiest. Lemmon and Curtis are perfectly paired and handle the tempo of Wilder's dialogue with amazing skill. The whole movie is just a text book example of the movie making art. The sequences that switch from Curtis and Monroe on the yacht to Lemmon and Brown on the tango floor are fabulous.
There's a reason this one is considered a classic. Actually there's a whole list of reasons.
Rating ***** Gotta Have It
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