George Cukor 119 remembered

9/10
"There are three sides to every marriage: his side, her side, and the truth"
kijii
4 November 2016

The combination of George Cukor directing movies written by Ruth Gordon and/or Garson Kanin--who, in real life, were married to each other--and featuring Judy Holliday and/or Aldo Ray seems to have been a winning team in the late 40s and early 50s. Adam's Rib (1949), It Should Happen to You (1954), Born Yesterday (1950), and Pat and Mike (1952) all seem to fit this bill. I have seen all of the above EXCEPT the one I am reviewing here, and this one now seems to be one of my favorites of the group.

These movies--like Marty which would follow later--seem to capture the daily lives of middle-class New Yorkers at a time before the world got so complicated with digital media. I was only about 9 at the time these movies were made, but it is nice to see and hear the styles, cars, life and lingo of that period again.

Both Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday (as Chet and Florrie Keefer) capture our hearts because they seem to be so serious about their lives, as they screech at each other with those funny, but winning voices. Some of the problems of their young marriage—like the accidental death of their son or a long-term disability--are serious, but others just don't seem that serious. Many of us can relate to in-law problems being blown out of proportion and who did what to whom and when. In a way, when we laugh at this movie, we are laughing at ourselves at some points of our marriage. So, the movie is both cathartic and funny at the same time.

As the judge in their divorce case (played by Madge Kennedy) says, (to paraphrase)--there are three sides to every marriage: his side, her side, and the truth. It is fun to hear Chet and Florrie each telling their side of the story while, at the same time, watching the truth playing out on the screen (in flashback).as they talk tell it.