BFI Top 50: Some Like it Hot, Released in 1959 and directed by Billy Wilder

What I know going in

I know it’s a cross-dressing comedy starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe. The only other Billy Wilder film I have seen is Sunset Boulevard, which I enjoyed immensely and is in my top 10 favorite films of all time, so I am excited to expand my knowledge of Wilder’s filmography. Since the film is a comedy I am interested in the reasons why the film is on the list. Is it daring in its exploration of the sexes, or is simply an incredibly funny film? I guess I’ll find out.

Immediate reaction

It is always interesting to go back and watch old comedies and horror movies. It provides an excellent opportunity to learn about what, in general, was going on in society at the time. Fear and laughter are possibly the two most visceral emotions and determining what makes a set of people afraid, what makes them laugh, and what they find edgy can be very revealing. Apparently, Some Like it Hot, got a “C” (Condemned) rating from the National Legion of Decency and was involved in the ultimate downfall of the production code because released as the equivalent of today’s unrated.

Needless to say, the film is incredibly tame by today’s standards and I have definitely run into a problem trying to judge the film. In general, I did find it enjoyable and it has a great zippy pace that I think would keep most audiences today engaged. Curtis and Lemmon are great in their respective. Lemmon’s character is so committed to cross-dressing that even seems to start to enjoy the film. Is it one of the top 50 greatest films of all time? I personally don’t think so, but maybe I am judging it too harshly because of the expectations the BFI’s list creates. If I had watched the film outside of this marathon, I may have even enjoyed it more. My viewing also made me think about context, which is a problem I had with City Lights as well. Had I seen Some Like it Hot when it came in 1959 I may have been falling out of my seat with laughter. Is it wrong to judge a film in this way? Should a film be able to retain its full power when it is viewed out of context in order to be considered a great film?

Going in, I was expecting the film to provide a critique of male-female relations. The film did have a few moments of satire. When Lemmon and Curtis board the train as women to escape from Chicago, Bienstock pinches Curtis’s ass. When the group arrives at the Florida hotel, the two leads realize that they are constantly being propositioned by men. They even comment on how difficult it is to walk in heels. I hope that when males first saw the movie 1959 (a time not known for progressive views regarding women) that they thought a tiny bit about their own attitudes towards the opposite sex.

This is also the first Marilyn Monroe movie I have seen, and I didn’t much care for her performance. Don’t get me wrong, I think she was very attractive, but not significantly than the other women in the band. I also found Monroe’s character in the film to be so ditzy that she became unappealing and I began to question Curtis’s attraction to the character. Again, this might be a problem with context. If I had come of age when Monroe was the brightest star in Hollywood, maybe I would have found her irresistible.

Further thoughts

I haven’t read anything that is allowing me to delve deeper into the themes of the movie or anything like that, just explanations on why the movie is so funny. Again, I enjoyed my time with the movie, but I just wasn’t able to muster the same enthusiasm for the film that other critics had. Usually, when I have felt nonplussed by a movie as part of this marathon, reading about it or watching supplementary materials has helped me to better understand its goals. In most cases, I end up enjoying the film more than on my initial watch. However, Some Like it Hot didn’t spark the same reaction within me.

Why is it on the list?

I assume to have an example screwball comedy. Every genre of film is important and it would be wrong to not include a certain type of film because it is viewed as less important or inconsequential. That being said, Playtime is also a comedy and I found it to have much more depth and thematic resonance than Some Like it Hot. If it was up to me, I probably wouldn’t put the film on the list.