203. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but... well, there haven't been any quiet moments.
Title: Bringing Up Baby
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 10
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: A scientist tries to get funding for his museum, but gets distracted by an early MPDG who has somehow come into possession of a leopard.
The Good: Funny, fast-paced, and good chemistry between the leads.
The Bad: Maybe a little too silly? Nah. Some of the acting is a little stagey.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Comedy Collection box-set from Costco.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yeah.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: You can see the reflection on the glass separating Cary Grant from the leopard in at least one shot.
Other Impressions: Bringing Up Baby is an early screwball comedy and it also happens to be one of the best I've ever seen. In terms of pacing and energy, I don't think anything else in the genre even comes close. And, additionally, it features great performances by Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn who are playing their archetypal characters, having a blast doing it.
There's a common misconception that pretty girls can't be funny and, here, Hepburn kills and buries it. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her, with her infectious smile, but she also owns nearly every laugh in the movie -- and there are a lot of them. Almost every line out of her mouth is funny, mainly because she's always so in character, never letting anything get to her and weaseling her way out of anything with her fast talking (I think I know someone like this in real life...).
There's often a desire to compare "classics" to more recent movies. We've had some very funny comedies over the past 20 - 30 years, many of which would have caused viewers in the 1930's to drop their monocles (I think Bringing Up Baby was pre-code, but I can't imagine any movie from the era having a jizz joke). Even if some of the more recent comedies are at least as funny as Bringing Up Baby, they have a different feel to them. It's not that this movie isn't dirty -- there are a bunch of lines that are double entendres ("Nonsense -- you tried it in the tail yesterday. It didn't fit.") -- it's that it features a kind of absurdity that modern movies can't pull off.
We watched this in film school, though it wasn't the first time I had seen it. Nearly everybody hated it. There was some talk abut the poor female representation, which, I dunno, I don't really see (though this isn't exactly "I am woman, hear me roar" material, either). Mostly, I just think it's a funny movie. And, as far as funny movies go, you really can't do much better.
The List
Title: Bringing Up Baby
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 10
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: A scientist tries to get funding for his museum, but gets distracted by an early MPDG who has somehow come into possession of a leopard.
The Good: Funny, fast-paced, and good chemistry between the leads.
The Bad: Maybe a little too silly? Nah. Some of the acting is a little stagey.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Comedy Collection box-set from Costco.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yeah.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: You can see the reflection on the glass separating Cary Grant from the leopard in at least one shot.
Other Impressions: Bringing Up Baby is an early screwball comedy and it also happens to be one of the best I've ever seen. In terms of pacing and energy, I don't think anything else in the genre even comes close. And, additionally, it features great performances by Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn who are playing their archetypal characters, having a blast doing it.
There's a common misconception that pretty girls can't be funny and, here, Hepburn kills and buries it. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her, with her infectious smile, but she also owns nearly every laugh in the movie -- and there are a lot of them. Almost every line out of her mouth is funny, mainly because she's always so in character, never letting anything get to her and weaseling her way out of anything with her fast talking (I think I know someone like this in real life...).
There's often a desire to compare "classics" to more recent movies. We've had some very funny comedies over the past 20 - 30 years, many of which would have caused viewers in the 1930's to drop their monocles (I think Bringing Up Baby was pre-code, but I can't imagine any movie from the era having a jizz joke). Even if some of the more recent comedies are at least as funny as Bringing Up Baby, they have a different feel to them. It's not that this movie isn't dirty -- there are a bunch of lines that are double entendres ("Nonsense -- you tried it in the tail yesterday. It didn't fit.") -- it's that it features a kind of absurdity that modern movies can't pull off.
We watched this in film school, though it wasn't the first time I had seen it. Nearly everybody hated it. There was some talk abut the poor female representation, which, I dunno, I don't really see (though this isn't exactly "I am woman, hear me roar" material, either). Mostly, I just think it's a funny movie. And, as far as funny movies go, you really can't do much better.
The List