Some Like It Hot | | Cast : | Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon | | Director : | Billy Wilder | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Black & White, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 29, 1959 | | DVD Released Date : | January 11, 2005 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 06, 2005 | | Summary | The original (and best) drag comedy | Content
 | The filming of "Some Like it Hot" has become almost as legendary as the movie itself. If you're a movie buff, you'll know that Marilyn Monroe required 40+ takes for one simple line, "Where's the bourbon?" You'll know that Tony Curtis became so frustrated at Monroe that he compared kissing her to "kissing Hitler." You'll know that Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis were furious at director Billy Wilder because he repeatedly chose takes that were flattering to Monroe but not to Lemmon and Curtis.
Despite the tension during the filming, "Some Like it Hot" remains one of the funniest, wittiest movie comedies ever made. I'll briefly describe the plot: Jerry (Lemmon) and Joe (Curtis) are musicians who witness a mob-hit. Realizing they "saw too much," they pretend to be women (Jerry becomes Daphne and Joe becomes Josephine) and join an all-girl's band. The female-band's ukelele player is a girl named Sugar (Monroe). Joe falls in love with Monroe and quickly disguises himself as a rich suitor. Meanwhile, Daphne finds his/her own suitor, the much-married Osgood (Joe E. Brown).
Of the three stars, I find Lemmon the funniest. As Jerry the bass player, Lemmon is rather ordinary. But he really blossoms when he becomes "Daphne." There are too many funny scenes with Lemmon to name, but I find the funniest one is after Osgood's proposal. Just the way Daphne joyfully dances by "herself" with maracas always makes me laugh. Curtis is not as convincing as Josephine (in an interview with Curtis he admits that some of his lines had to be dubbed because he couldnt get his voice high-pitched enough), but as "Shell Oil Jr." he's also hilarious, and he does a spot-on Cary Grant imitation. And what about Monroe? Despite all the problems she had during filming, she's simply radiant and adorable as Sugar. Everyone talks about how sexy she is when she sings "I Wanna Be Loved By You," but my favorite moment is when she sings "I'm Thru With Love." She's so soulful and heartbroken.
The extras are above average, especially for a movie as old as "Some Like it Hot." There's an interview with Tony Curtis, and he talks candidly about the filming. There are also interviews with the girl-band actresses, the "Sweet Sues." However, I would have liked to see Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder give their reminisces. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | One of the finest comedies of all time. | Content
| I recently picked up a special edition DVD of the classic "Some Like It Hot", and upon arriving home with it, tossed out my old battered fullscreen VHS version. I watched this film again last night, with the added bonus of seeing it for the first time in widescreen, and was immediately struck once again by how perfect a movie it is.
You've got a Billy Wilder film with female impersonators in it, in the forms of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe with a screen name that reeks of porn and/or strippers - "Sugar Cane". What more could you ask for? This wondrous mix combined to make one of the greatest comedies in the history of film.
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon portray down-and-out musicians who accidently witness a mob massacre and immediately flee from the mob as George Raft's character says, "I don't like no loose ends." In desperation, they disguise themselves as women - Curtis as "Josephine", and Lemmon as "Daphne", in order to join an all-girl band and leave town.
Once "Sugar Cane" (Monroe) sashays past the pair on the way to the train they're about to board, all bets are off. Staring after her as she walks away, Lemmon, as "Daphne" exclaims, "Would you look at that...That's just like jello on springs!"
The rest of the plot summary I'll leave out. What I will remark on is how really filthy this movie is, for its time. And very gay! The innuendos and double-entendres are priceless. And Lemmon, who had one of the most expressive faces in film, gives an amazing performance. Tony Curtis looks scarily convincing as a woman (Lemmon just looks strange), and Marilyn is hypnotically beautiful and funny at the same time.
This was a woman whom the camera truly loved. Pregnant during the making of the film, she looks just slightly more voluptuous than usual for the time - in fact gorgeous - and in closeups, ethereal, vulnerable, and breathtaking in a way that almost brings tears to the eyes.
Joe E. Brown gives a hilarious performance as "Daphne's" suitor, and Tony Curtis gets to give his (passable, but still very funny) Cary Grant impression. Side note: I think it's pretty well known that there has been the legendary rumor for years that Curtis said that "Kissing Marilyn Monroe was like kissing Hitler" because of problems on the set with her erratic behavior. In recent years Curtis has claimed that he never made that statement. Whatever the truth, the pair do exhibit really wonderful chemistry in their love scene together, and the skin-colored/sequined dress Marilyn Monroe wears for that sequence is absolutely perfect. She couldn't sit down, so a special board/rest was set up for her.
This is a film that still stands the test of time; an ultimate classic of comedy. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | Great Comedy | Content
| What a great film. Marilyn Monroe was at her peak, and she shines throughout the film. Both Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis were wonderful. Truly a comedy for all time. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 08, 2005 | | Summary | Marilyn at her finest | Content
| First you must know I am a huge Marilyn fan, and first saw her in this funny, smart, and sweet comedy. This is one of my fave Marilyn movies. She is also seen in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and plays a smarter, sassier role. Here she is cute if not a little ditzy, but the comedy is wonderful. Guys will love the action and crime scandals, girls will adore the Sweet Sues and cute scenes. Both genders will enjoy the humor and music of this swinging sex film. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 09, 2005 | | Summary | Ms. Monroe's Best Comedic Role | Content
| SOME LIKE IT HOT is one of those movies that you can watch again and again and still do a lot of laughing. Marilyn Monroe in what has to be her best comedic role stars with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon is this classic directed by Billy Wilder. The plot is well-known to everyone I'm sure. Curtis and Lemmon, to escape being murdered by Chicago gangsters, disguise themselves as women and get a job as musicians in an all-girl band in Miami; then the lipstick (?)comedy begins. Cross-dressing of course is as old as the theatre itself. It was funny when Shakespeare did it and still remains the source of much humor on both the stage and in movies.
I was reminded again on revisiting this movie that the actors and directors got away with a great deal of sex in the 50's although the rules were a lot stricter then. Ms. Monroe oozes sex in her see-through dress that keeps trying to fall off her. And Curtis and Lemmon's characters have been copied by later directors. It's easy to see shades of this movie in, for example, Mike Nichols' fine production of THE BIRD CAGE.
Even though some of the scenery looks a little staged and I would have cut the film by about 15 minutes, it's still one of the really funny movies that holds up well after over 40 years. |
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