Some Like It Hot

In an era of filmmaking where people of varying genders, sexualities, and ethnicities can explore their own artistic visions through the cinematic lens, this was a far-cry from how it was in the early days of Hollywood. Stories of other cultures that weren’t within the European or American viewpoint were either stereotyped, used as propaganda for or against a war effort, or just flat-out ignored, making it increasingly difficult to make movies featuring these elements, made even worse by the Hays Code, a Motion Picture Production Code that listed several guidelines that censored material from features released within the US from 1934 to 1968. This code underlined with Catholic principles was responsible for a lot of toned down or less-than-graphic material within that era and it restricted things ranging from interracial relationships, sexual relations outside of marriage, homosexuality of any kind, curse words and stuff along those lines. Despite this, it didn’t prevented movies from fighting against it. Around the 1950s, movies started to showcase elements against the Hays Code and proved the guidelines were outdated, with one of the key films responsible for its decline being the 1959 comedy, Some Like It Hot. Set with Prohibition-era Chicago, Joe, and Jerry (played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) are penniless musicians who play at a speakeasy run by gangster ‘’Spats’’ Colombo (played by George Raft) who is under investigation from police after they raided the joint. After trying to find work, Joe and Jerry unknowingly witness Spats and his crew commit a murder and are now targets for execution. Needing to hide out, Joe and Jerry find a job asking for musicians within an all-females band, which leads to them disguising themselves as ‘Josephine’ and ‘Daphne’ in order to hide from the mob as well as earn some money. Literally hiding in plain site as the opposite sex, the two find themselves acquainted with Sugar Kane (played by Marilyn Monroe), the band’s ukulele player who’s tagging alone in order to escape her old life of passing through old lovers and hopes to secure her new dream of settling down with a wealthier man. With both men falling for Sugar, but being unable to express it due to the circumstances, it becomes a battle of which persona stays the longest as the two battle for Sugar’s affection while still outmaneuvering the gangsters that are slowly closing in. Despite looking like a straightforward comedy by today’s standard, Some Like it Hot was an incredibly influential movie that paved way for several other ground-breaking movies to push further boundaries in the future.

The original story for this film originated as a 1935 French comedy titled Fanfare d’amour (Fanfare of Love) and eventually found itself as an American remake. The true genius behind this film is one that can only be truly appreciated during the time when it was released, as even though some of its content can be recognized as progressive when viewed in modern day, releasing a movie like this within 1950s Hollywood is by all accounts an impossibility and it’s a true marvel that it managed to pull it off. This mainly came down to the fact that it ignored the Hays Code (or rather was created without its approval) and managed to secure a highly successful picture regardless. It was the true testament that this code wasn’t a list of successful guidelines needed to make a movie work, but rather a list of paranoid old-fashioned annoyances which stunted more movies than it improved. In an era when movies were branching out and experimenting more with what they could get away with, Some Like It Hot’s blatant and openness regarding a subject matter and premise that heavily features cross-dressing, and sparks of LGBTQIA+-related themes was very ahead of its time and something that really helps this movie in the long run. As a whole, the movie does feel slightly hollow without its main crux of ‘hiding as a women away from gangsters’, therefore it works strongest as a comedic-based film with a fast-paced slapstick-like atmosphere. The strongest parts of the movie are when the two men are in disguise on the train, as watching them interact with other people as their disguises does lead to some fun moments that keep your attention for the most part. The opening is not very engaging and only exists to set this premise into motion without much purpose or cleverness really put behind it. It feels very expected of comedic-based movies of the era in how shallow and circumstantial things end up together, but it thankfully doesn’t last too long and knows that its true strength lies in its premise. A majority of this film’s problems stem from the narrative components that aren’t attached to the initial idea, as the gangster sub-plot is quite lame and forgettable, especially noticeable in a movie that’s trying to leap boundaries, yet still features a tired formulaic antagonist. It fortunately sidesteps this issue mostly by being kept in the background, and while the movie didn’t need its two-hour running time (as most comedies that overstay their welcome can become tiring), it doesn’t reach that point entirely either.

Comedies need talented, passionate, and funny performers in order to make most of their movies really connect with people, and since this movie is tackling new things in an era where this wasn’t commonly seen, the actors needed to be committed and believable in order to make this as successful as it was. Both Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon were relatively big names when this movie came out and both had showed off their talents in not only dramatic roles, but also comedic-centred ones which they dabbled in on occasion. They do exhibit the traditional odd-couple comedic-duo relationship that was akin to something like Laurel and Hardy and others of their type in that era, but within this movie, their truest strengths are when they have to dress up as women. Everything featuring them beforehand is very run-of-the-mil content and nothing much else, whereas once they are put in drag, they showcase their comedic chops and timing in both a verbal and expressive manner. The two have great chemistry between each other and they are able to effectively characterize themselves moreso within their personas than in their original slates. Both of them aren’t very interesting or unique until they put on the costume, which is when things get more fun and distinct, and even though there’s a risk of being offensive in today’s society, the film never feels like its laughing at the expense of what they’re doing. Both Josephine and Daphne have good moments interacting with people and their facial expressions of trying to keep themselves composed as these personas is quite funny, even moreso when they get so into the role that it becomes a blur which they are more comfortable in. Marilyn Monroe, despite what is required of the character, was actually not the first choice for this role (the original choice was Mitzi Gaynor) even though it feels like a role she was destined to play. Considering she was an actress that wanted to branch out into more than just the ‘’dumb bombshell blond’’ trope, this role of being similar to that department but still featuring a sense of brain and urgency, would have felt very natural to her, and she surprisingly does pretty decent with moments where her sparks of comedic timing are shown, displaying how she could’ve handled that department decently enough if given the chance. Apparently filming with her was difficult due to showing up late and constantly messing up her lines, but it doesn’t come across in the final performance. Most of the supporting cast is good, acting in that overly goofy yet quick-witted manner that’s very frequent in older comedies, and while most of them aren’t given the best material (most of the gangster are portrayed as very one-note boring stereotypes) it’s doesn’t take away too much time from the main focus.

The movie is co-written by the man who also produced and directed this movie, Billy Wilder, who is a director whose presence in early Hollywood is very apparent. Being considered one of the most versatile directors of classic cinema, Wilder has been a part of several films of varying genres and has had as much critical acclaim in those as he has in his comedies, elevating his talents and producing content as strongly as possible even in genres that don’t normally do well from a critical standpoint. The dialogue is not the most hilarious or new even for material back in those days, but it is matched with a fast pace and almost absurdist level of intrigue that makes it at least fun to witness these actors work back and forth between each other, which would’ve no doubt come from the experience that came from the long-standing careers of both Wilder and fellow writer, I. A. L. Diamond, whose work mainly consisted of comedies. The film’s black and white filter was added mainly to disguise how apparently horrific Curtis and Lemmon looked in their make-up, but it adds an old nostalgic feel to the movie and akin to one of the early slapstick comedies of the silent era of film. The music done by Adolph Deutsch is also pretty good, adopting a jazzy sensibility that adds a nice flair and presence to the movie while also knowing how to go overboard in the wilder moments without being distracting.

Some Like It Hot isn’t a movie that has held up thanks to incredibly writing, performances or even story, it’s held up because of what it did to film making as a whole, how it was one of many movies that helped take down a code that was extremely problematic in many ways, and introduces a story about cross-dressing in a sense that would allow people to laugh along with them as oppose to at them, and for the time, that’s pretty remarkable. There has been a lot of progression in terms of showcasing underrepresented communities in today’s society and even though it still needs work, it’s a vast improvement over the past where it was near impossible to even bring up or highlight them without being facing censorship, and this movie is one of the reasons it’s possible at all. All the other elements listed like the directing, writing, and acting aren’t even bad and the movie will more than likely please you for its running time, but it isn’t a project that has increasingly unique or long-lasting elements outside of what it did on a larger scale. Think of this as the starting off point for all other stories that explore themes of sexuality and gender in the modern era, and unlike others from a past period that contain said elements, this one can still be looked back on and not make you feel incredibly uncomfortable when watching.