Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»738. Monkey Business (1952)

    738. Monkey Business (1952)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on November 2, 2014 1952, 6 - 7.9, 90-99 mins, Comedy, Movies Of 2014, Nov 14, Review, United States
    6.5 Pretty weak comedy
    • Acting 6.5
    • Directing 6.6
    • Story 6.4
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers

    Director: Howard Hawks

    Running Time: 97 mins


    Monkey Business is an American film about a brilliant chemist who creates a potion that makes people feel younger than they are, however various unexpected side effects soon cause mayhem for the chemist and his wife.

    Well, although I didn’t find it particularly funny, there were some decent laughs in this film. However, the overall funniness is now sadly diminished by the fact that it is very dated, and while it tries hard to emulate some of the great screwballs that came before it, it just doesn’t feel at all like the classic comedies that remain funny today, and that was what disappointed me most here.

    Effectively, this whole film is just too weak in the foundations of the script to be properly funny. Screwball comedies are meant to be a bit racy, whereas this not only seemed a bit formulaic, but adding in that magical note destroyed the illusion of a real situation that you’d expect to see in this sort of film, rendering the majority of its comedy much less effective.

    Also, the performances aren’t that great. Ginger Rogers, whether she was in her adult persona or her child one, was just constantly irritating, Marilyn Monroe and Charles Coburn were relatively strong in their more sensible and believable minor roles, while Cary Grant was a real disappointment.

    It seems as if this film was just a little bit too low for a great like Grant to step into, and to see him try and save what is just too fluffy and unbelievable a script was just boring. Also, his character was just not weak enough for this film to be a proper screwball. Yes, his wife was much more domineering in the earlier stages, but you never get that real sense of who wears the trousers in the relationship because their characters change so much during the film.

    In terms of the story, it’s also too fluffy. The magic potion idea was not credible enough in the situation, meaning it just annoyed me, while its consequences were beyond insufferable. They may have farcical and occasionally funny, but largely, a lot of this film was a bit annoying to watch, largely due to its very weak feel, and because of that, it gets a 6.5 from me.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.9
    Review
    July 21, 20170

    1831. Dunkirk (2017)

    8.7
    Review
    July 11, 20170

    1820. Baby Driver (2017)

    8.0
    Review
    July 29, 20170

    1839. Il Sorpasso (1962)

    8.4
    Review
    December 16, 20160

    1584. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

    8.9
    Review
    January 21, 20150

    827. The African Queen (1951)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.