The Rom Com Catalog

Tag: 1954

  • ‘It Should Happen to You’ (1954) Review

    ‘It Should Happen to You’ (1954) Review

    It Should Happen to You Synopsis: When a young woman with dreams of fame rents a billboard to advertise herself, her life changes overnight.

    Recently fired from her modeling job, Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) is desperate to make a name for herself. She has dreams of stardom but has no idea how to achieve them. When she meets Pete (Jack Lemmon), a documentarian, he inspires her to keep working for what she wants if she really wants it. Inspired, Gladys decides to buy ad space on a giant billboard at Columbus Square, with just her name painted on it.

    This sets off a firestorm of curiosity from people and an annoyance from Evan Adams III (Peter Lawson), the owner of a soap company who had wanted the ad space for himself. Gladys begins to experience the stardom she’s always craved, but is living in the spotlight everything she hoped it would be?

    I had never even heard of It Should Happen to You until the day I decided to watch it. It happened to be on TCM, and I loved the synopsis, so I gave it a go. I’m so glad I did. It Should Happen to You is just delightful. Judy Holliday is the star here. Her performance as Gladys Glover is so charming that even when she is naïve and dimwitted, she’s incredibly likable and funny.

    This was Jack Lemmon’s film debut, and already you can see his star power. While the movie really is about Gladys, I still wish we had seen more of Pete and his blossoming romance with Gladys. Even so, the moments they do share on-screen are magic.

    It Should Happen to You has such a simple yet ridiculous premise – Gladys just wants her name on a billboard for all to see because that’s how she knows she’ll become someone. She’s steadfast in her belief, so much so that she declines Evan Adams’s offer of money just to see her name above Columbus Square for a meager three months.

    When the intrigue of the billboard takes off, so does her career, and she loves the spotlight, at least for a while. Holliday is so good at portraying Gladys’s eternal optimism, even when she becomes jaded by what stardom actually means. She’s a woman who follows her dreams but is also strong enough to admit when reality doesn’t quite match what she thought the fantasy would be.

    It Should Happen to You does not say Gladys needs a man to be happy. Her love for Pete is her choice, as is what she does with her life and future. Gladys may seem like your typical blonde bombshell, but she’s actually a very strong female character, and I love that she defies the stereotype.

    It Should Happen to You is a perfectly cast film with snappy, witty dialogue and superb direction by George Cukor, which is no surprise considering he also directed one of the best rom-coms of all time, The Philadelphia Story.  There are so many reasons to watch this film, so make sure you put this on your watchlist. You won’t be disappointed.


    Watched: 05/18/2022
    Notable Song: Let’s Fall in Love by Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday

    Rating:


  • ‘White Christmas’ (1954) Review

    ‘White Christmas’ (1954) Review

    White Christmas Synopsis: A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.

    After the end of WWII, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis left the army to go on to become a famous song and dance team. While on tour, they are invited to see the sister act of a buddy they knew in the army. It’s there they meet sisters Judy and Betty Haynes. Judy and Phil get along quite nicely, but Betty and Bob initially feel a bit prickly toward one another.

    Thinking that perhaps Betty would be the perfect woman for Bob to settle down with, Phil manipulates events in order to follow Betty and Judy to Vermont. There, they face their former army general, who is now running the inn where Betty and Judy are meant to perform. The inn is not doing so well, and it looks like their former general could lose everything if things don’t turn around soon. Desperate to help, Bob, Phil, Judy, and Betty decide to put on a show at the inn.

    I know White Christmas is beloved by many, but this was my first time watching it. I have always loved Bing Crosby’s crooning rendition of Irving Berlin’s classic song, so I thought it was time to see what White Christmas was all about. For the most part, I did enjoy it.

    The song and dance sequences were entertaining and beautifully choreographed. The plot was a bit fantastical, but this is a Christmas movie, so I was okay with that. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye matched perfectly, bringing their unique comedic talent to the film. Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen were also well cast as sisters, and Clooney, in particular, was just luminescent on screen.

    It truly did feel like the movie was filmed like a Broadway show – had it ever been one!? – which added a bit of charm as well. There were a few moments where I felt the film dragged a bit, and Betty’s misunderstanding of Bob’s intention with the show at the inn came across as more than a little contrived. But that’s my frustration with using simple communication issues to create conflict and derail the blossoming romance. This movie was released in 1954, so perhaps that trope hadn’t been beaten to death yet, but I found it a little annoying.

    All in all, I can see why White Christmas is loved by so many. Watching during the holiday is fun, especially for Crosby and Kaye’s chemistry. It may not be one I’ll add to my yearly rotation, but I’m glad I finally watched it!

    Watched: 12./24/2020
    Notable Song: White Christmas by Bing Crosby, et al.

    Rating: