Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) ***1/2
Billy Wilder made quite a few classic comedies—Some Like It Hot (1959) (my review here) and The Apartment (1960) (my review here) chief among them. While Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) never reaches the comedic gold heights of either of those films, it is still a fun little romp. A problematic one perhaps, but fun nonetheless.
With a premise not far removed from The Apartment (though it's certainly less romantic and more of a "sex" comedy), KMS feels tame by today's standards but when it was released it was blasted by critics for being vulgar. It's an interesting thing to watch a film like this in 2020—one where both a husband and wife take part in infidelity and we're expected to accept it for the sake of the marriage. I have less of an issue with that than I do with how women are treated in the film—on the one hand the characters have a certain autonomy, on the other the whole premise just seems to hinge on one of them delivering the on the nose punchline at the end (I bet you can guess what it is).
There isn't really a "greater good" for wife Zelda (a wonderful Felicia Farr). She makes a sacrifice that might benefit the household income, but mainly just works to bring fame to her songwriter husband Orville (an over-the-top but amusing Ray Walston), while Orville fails at the task he set out to accomplish—only to commit adultery anyway. Dean Martin must have had fun doing a self parody of himself and Kim Novak is maybe a little bit too "Marilyn Monroe" to have her own voice, but is very enjoyable regardless.
For this viewer, there's nothing particularly offensive about Kiss Me, Stupid. It's silly and dated (although handsy men is still a relevant topic) but there's definitely some Wilder magic in it. Recommended with caveats.
You can find my Billy Wilder Films Ranked list here.
With a premise not far removed from The Apartment (though it's certainly less romantic and more of a "sex" comedy), KMS feels tame by today's standards but when it was released it was blasted by critics for being vulgar. It's an interesting thing to watch a film like this in 2020—one where both a husband and wife take part in infidelity and we're expected to accept it for the sake of the marriage. I have less of an issue with that than I do with how women are treated in the film—on the one hand the characters have a certain autonomy, on the other the whole premise just seems to hinge on one of them delivering the on the nose punchline at the end (I bet you can guess what it is).
There isn't really a "greater good" for wife Zelda (a wonderful Felicia Farr). She makes a sacrifice that might benefit the household income, but mainly just works to bring fame to her songwriter husband Orville (an over-the-top but amusing Ray Walston), while Orville fails at the task he set out to accomplish—only to commit adultery anyway. Dean Martin must have had fun doing a self parody of himself and Kim Novak is maybe a little bit too "Marilyn Monroe" to have her own voice, but is very enjoyable regardless.
For this viewer, there's nothing particularly offensive about Kiss Me, Stupid. It's silly and dated (although handsy men is still a relevant topic) but there's definitely some Wilder magic in it. Recommended with caveats.
You can find my Billy Wilder Films Ranked list here.
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