Friday, October 26, 2007

Movie review - "Pillow Talk" (1959) ***1/2

The screenplay for this glossy Universal comedy won an Oscar, a fact often held up for derision, but this holds up over the years as a bright, sharp comedy which has dated surprisingly little. Yes, Doris Day is determined to hang on to her virtue: but only to a point. Once she thinks Rock Hudson might be gay she's up for it, even without a wedding ring. And she's a liberated woman who won't marry Tony Randall despite his money, who has a career and isn't determined to be used. 

Doris and Rock have a real chemistry and Rock is in good form as a likable heel who clashes with Doris' sensible mum-ness. Tony Randall is a laugh, too- though it's a bit uneasy the way the film portrays Thelma Ritter's acute alcoholism as cute.

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