This hilarious black and white movie starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis is pretty much the original White Chicks. Two musicians, Gerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis), must escape from Chicago in the late 1920s after witnessing a gang murder. The only problem? Their sole option for getting out of the city is to join up with an all-girls band. Taking on the personas of “Josephine” and “Daphne”, the pair attempts to keep their charade and lies up long enough to get to Florida. Things get further complicated with Joe starts to fall in love with the band’s main star, Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) and “Daphne” is being pursued by an old millionaire who will stop at nothing to win “her” affections.
The movie features several recurring jokes and lines, usually used by different characters each time. Instead of being repetitive and annoying, the lines serve as even funnier every time they’re repeated. The four main characters present such lively stories, it makes them easy to follow and to fall in love with. Each character’s quirks present hilarious issues as well as endearing moments.
While the movie does have sexual undertones, the movie was produced in 1959, so much of the innuendos are veiled, save one particularly sexualized encounter between Sugar and Joe. (Joe is, in fact, being a male in this scene, making the movie more appropriate for the time period it was created in.) Much of the movie’s sexual content is off-handed comments, sultry outfits from Monroe’s character, a dirty joke or two, and creative metaphors.
Just as you begin to forget the gang from Chicago, they appear back to create the main climax of the movie. Things reach a head as Joe and Gerry attempt to continue their escape while leaving broken-hearts behind. The movie ends happily with hilarious final lines between “Daphne” and the old millionaire.
Perhaps one of the best hidden gems of the time, the acting is spot on, the jokes very funny, and the movie is overall family friendly (it is rated PG.) The movie has declined in popularity over the past decades, but its value has not at all decreased. While many people continue to have obsessions with Marilyn Monroe, not many people have seen her movies. Not only will this movie make you laugh, but it’ll also give you something to talk about.
No matter how many times I see this movie it never fails to make me laugh hysterically. “Some Like It Hot” is lighthearted enough to make you happy no matter the mood or current events. It’s also amusing to watch two men, one who is a womanizer, learn as they go from struggling to walk in heels to running away in them. The movie points out some random struggles of women in real, but still funny ways. The film was progressive for its time and arguably even now, making it a great subject of discussion among friends as well.
Don’t wait any longer to watch this movie- it’s definitely worth your time!