#21 - GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help? ~Lorelei Lee
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn
There are movies that I love because they make me contemplate the existence of the universe (see previous entry), but then there are movies that I love because they are so much fun. This definitely falls in the latter category.
Marilyn Monroe is a gold-digger and Jane Russell is her riches-eschewing best friend-slash-chaperone. They are taking a cross Atlantic ship to get to Paris, and along the way, Jane Russell's Dorothy has got to keep her friend Lorelei true to her geeky fiance by steering her clear of diamond magnate Charles Coburn. Of course, there are distractions: an Olympic track team, a private detective posing as a millionaire, and a diamond tiara that ends up causing a lot of trouble. Complications ensue, the heroines are in peril, but all is righted in the end. The girls get the guys... and the diamonds.
The plot is not the point. The plot serves as a scaffold from which Hawks can hang his delightful set pieces. Dorothy's winning "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" song is now oddly homoerotic, surrounded as she is by half-naked men wearing short shorts and doing gymnastics. The girls conspiring to get camera film back from the undercover detective, involving lots of alcohol, of course, is comic chaos. Dorothy and Lorelei break into song on the streets of Paris, accompanied by street urchins and vendors, with a gloriously upbeat and catchy tune. And of course, the ubiquitous and immortal "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number, with Marilyn in THAT pink strapless dress, the showstopper that has gone down in history as Marilyn's defining moment.
I hope you do not seek out this film merely for that song. It is a fun song, yes, but the movie as a whole is a joy. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe complement each other very well; Russell is cynical and down to earth, and Monroe is doe-eyed and ditzy, but with a surprisingly conniving undertone. In fact, this is one of Monroe's strongest performances BECAUSE she is not simply a "dumb blonde." Lorelei Lee is smart. Perhaps not book smart, but she is a woman who knows how to get what she wants and is unusally focused and driven. Furthermore, although she is unabashed about her gold-digging, we get the sense that she truly cares for her fiance Gus. As she puts it, she could have chosen any millionaire (and we believe her, her feminine wiles are just that good), but she chose goofy bespectacled Gus. Why? Because he genuinely cares for her, and she, in turn, cares for him. Well, him and his money, let's not forget that.
This is the filmic equivalent of a bowl of mac and cheese to me. The first time I ever saw this movie was a highly emotional night; my family's cat had fallen ill and I was the only one home. I had to take Smokey to the emergency vet all by myself where she had to spend the night before we would know the prognosis. I was upset, I was scared, and I needed to be diverted so that I could get some sleep. Enter Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It comforted me at a moment in my life where I really needed to be comforted, and ever since, I turn to it when I feel like I need a cinematic bear hug. There is no other film quite so good at picking me up when I feel down as this.
When deciding on my favorite musical moment from the film, I have decided against the too-obvious "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number in favor of the homoerotic Jane Russell number. It really doesn't help that the men's shorts are flesh-colored. Legend has it that Jane Russell was NOT supposed to fall into the pool at the end, but it happened by accident in one of the takes. Hawks liked it so much he decided to keep it in the final cut.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn
There are movies that I love because they make me contemplate the existence of the universe (see previous entry), but then there are movies that I love because they are so much fun. This definitely falls in the latter category.
Marilyn Monroe is a gold-digger and Jane Russell is her riches-eschewing best friend-slash-chaperone. They are taking a cross Atlantic ship to get to Paris, and along the way, Jane Russell's Dorothy has got to keep her friend Lorelei true to her geeky fiance by steering her clear of diamond magnate Charles Coburn. Of course, there are distractions: an Olympic track team, a private detective posing as a millionaire, and a diamond tiara that ends up causing a lot of trouble. Complications ensue, the heroines are in peril, but all is righted in the end. The girls get the guys... and the diamonds.
The plot is not the point. The plot serves as a scaffold from which Hawks can hang his delightful set pieces. Dorothy's winning "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" song is now oddly homoerotic, surrounded as she is by half-naked men wearing short shorts and doing gymnastics. The girls conspiring to get camera film back from the undercover detective, involving lots of alcohol, of course, is comic chaos. Dorothy and Lorelei break into song on the streets of Paris, accompanied by street urchins and vendors, with a gloriously upbeat and catchy tune. And of course, the ubiquitous and immortal "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number, with Marilyn in THAT pink strapless dress, the showstopper that has gone down in history as Marilyn's defining moment.
I hope you do not seek out this film merely for that song. It is a fun song, yes, but the movie as a whole is a joy. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe complement each other very well; Russell is cynical and down to earth, and Monroe is doe-eyed and ditzy, but with a surprisingly conniving undertone. In fact, this is one of Monroe's strongest performances BECAUSE she is not simply a "dumb blonde." Lorelei Lee is smart. Perhaps not book smart, but she is a woman who knows how to get what she wants and is unusally focused and driven. Furthermore, although she is unabashed about her gold-digging, we get the sense that she truly cares for her fiance Gus. As she puts it, she could have chosen any millionaire (and we believe her, her feminine wiles are just that good), but she chose goofy bespectacled Gus. Why? Because he genuinely cares for her, and she, in turn, cares for him. Well, him and his money, let's not forget that.
This is the filmic equivalent of a bowl of mac and cheese to me. The first time I ever saw this movie was a highly emotional night; my family's cat had fallen ill and I was the only one home. I had to take Smokey to the emergency vet all by myself where she had to spend the night before we would know the prognosis. I was upset, I was scared, and I needed to be diverted so that I could get some sleep. Enter Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It comforted me at a moment in my life where I really needed to be comforted, and ever since, I turn to it when I feel like I need a cinematic bear hug. There is no other film quite so good at picking me up when I feel down as this.
When deciding on my favorite musical moment from the film, I have decided against the too-obvious "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number in favor of the homoerotic Jane Russell number. It really doesn't help that the men's shorts are flesh-colored. Legend has it that Jane Russell was NOT supposed to fall into the pool at the end, but it happened by accident in one of the takes. Hawks liked it so much he decided to keep it in the final cut.