The Philadelphia Story - NR
Common Sense Note
This is a very funny comedy of manners, beautifully performed and directed. However, it's a bit risque and the class politics may be lost on younger kids. They may also be confused by the outdated gender roles.
Parents may want to discuss how gender roles have evolved since the movie was made. Parents should also know that alcoholism, divorce, adultery, and lechery are made light of.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Ellen MacKay
Hepburn is unquestionably the star of this screwball romance--she goes from wacky to self-assured to self-reproachful in the bat of a perfectly curled eyelash. But the supporting cast is also astonishingly talented. Cary Grant is irrepressibly charming, and Jimmy Stewart steals the show when he turns into an amorous drunk (he won a Best Actor Oscar for this role).
The script is Hollywood gold standard: the dialogue is sly and witty (although pretty adult), the story tightly wound and beautifully spun. There are plenty of funny pratfalls (watch poor Kittridge try to ride a horse), but there's also a serious side to this movie. As Tracy prepares herself for her second marriage, she endures two lectures, one from her ex and one from her dad, and both are harsh.
Even worse, the moral of these two sermons hasn't aged well--Tracy is instructed that a woman should be unconditionally forgiving, understanding, and loving in the face of her husband's alcoholism and her father's sexual indiscretions. Parents may want to discuss how gender roles have evolved since the movie was made.
But overall, this is a smart and ambitious comedy, one that states that there's more to a wedding than the number of gifts received and the price of the bride's dress, and more to life than good manners and fine appearances. The love story is complex and delightful, and plenty of silly sub-plots keep things moving.
Kids who are dazzled by this fine feature may want to check out Bringing up Baby, also starring Grant and Hepburn, and His Girl Friday, which shares a journalistic theme.
Rate It!
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ViolenceSome fistfights, played for laughs. |
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Social BehaviorTracy is told she's unfeminine for having high moral standards--women are expected to tolerate alcoholism and adultery. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoTracy gets very drunk, kisses another man the night before her wedding, and goes for a midnight swim with him. |
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