RomComs - "Let's all be manly!"
The classic battle-of-the-sexes movie. Cowritten by Ruth Gordon, who later won the Oscar for Rosemary's Baby, and even later won our hearts in Harold and Maude. This is probably my favorite Hepburn-Tracy movie (well, no, I guess that's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), even though it may seem rather dated now.
Adam's Rib
The sexual politics of this film strike me as almost condescending, but I'd imagine that in 1949 they were pretty progressive. Judy Holliday plays a woman who, in an attempt to scare her husband into fidelity, shoots him several times. She is put on trial, and her face is all over the newspaper. It kind of creeps me out how the women in the film seem to be all "YAYZ!" over what she did.
Adam and Amanda Bonner (Spencer and Kate, respectively) are both lawyers and end up being opposing counsel for this case. Adam prosecutes and Amanda defends. Amanda's argument is that if her client were a man, he probably wouldn't even be on trial. That all this woman did was try to protect her family. I'm reasonably sure that such a case could not be made in this day and age. I may be wrong - all I have to go on are the myriad court shows I've seen on television. But I think a prosecutor would almost certainly paint the defendant - male or female - as a jealous lover rather than a protective spouse. Attempted murder is attempted murder, and whether or not the defendant thought it was in the interests of saving their marriage is immaterial. This is Adam's position throughout the film, and even though he loses the case, he wins the argument with his wife.
Oh yes, the argument. That's what makes this movie a favorite with me, despite its flaws. Hepburn and Tracy are at their bickering and bantering best here. Adam is ultimately right when it comes to the law and social mores, but Amanda is right to stand up for her client as well. Because even if we no longer see attempted murder the way Amanda argues it in this movie, some of the disparity between the sexes unfortunately still exists almost 60 years later. Not in the law, perhaps, but in the eyes of the world.
Memorable Moments in Dialogue:
Amanda Bonner: And after you shot your husband... how did you feel?
Doris Attinger: Hungry!
"Awwww!" Moment: Amanda and Adam having to explain the nickname "Pinkie" to the court stenographer.
Adam's Rib
The sexual politics of this film strike me as almost condescending, but I'd imagine that in 1949 they were pretty progressive. Judy Holliday plays a woman who, in an attempt to scare her husband into fidelity, shoots him several times. She is put on trial, and her face is all over the newspaper. It kind of creeps me out how the women in the film seem to be all "YAYZ!" over what she did.
Adam and Amanda Bonner (Spencer and Kate, respectively) are both lawyers and end up being opposing counsel for this case. Adam prosecutes and Amanda defends. Amanda's argument is that if her client were a man, he probably wouldn't even be on trial. That all this woman did was try to protect her family. I'm reasonably sure that such a case could not be made in this day and age. I may be wrong - all I have to go on are the myriad court shows I've seen on television. But I think a prosecutor would almost certainly paint the defendant - male or female - as a jealous lover rather than a protective spouse. Attempted murder is attempted murder, and whether or not the defendant thought it was in the interests of saving their marriage is immaterial. This is Adam's position throughout the film, and even though he loses the case, he wins the argument with his wife.
Oh yes, the argument. That's what makes this movie a favorite with me, despite its flaws. Hepburn and Tracy are at their bickering and bantering best here. Adam is ultimately right when it comes to the law and social mores, but Amanda is right to stand up for her client as well. Because even if we no longer see attempted murder the way Amanda argues it in this movie, some of the disparity between the sexes unfortunately still exists almost 60 years later. Not in the law, perhaps, but in the eyes of the world.
Memorable Moments in Dialogue:
Amanda Bonner: And after you shot your husband... how did you feel?
Doris Attinger: Hungry!
"Awwww!" Moment: Amanda and Adam having to explain the nickname "Pinkie" to the court stenographer.