His Girl Friday = Major Headache
Cary Grant, lead hunk of the classic Hollywood era, is paired with the witty Rosalind Russell in the film
His Girl Friday. This groundbreaking film introduced overlapping dialogue in film - never before had a script violated such an institutionalized rule.
My Commentary: To be quite frank, I initially enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the newsroom. The clickity-clack of a typewriter mixed with the constant buzz of the telephone put me in the reporter's environment. It wasn't until Grant and Russell started to converse that I began to feel a headache coming on. I love a witty banter anyday, especially when it's written intelligently. However, these two put the
Gilmore Girls to shame. I swear the script length was three times longer than the average film.
Another annoying point: Hildy's character arch really disappointed me. She went from a self-sufficient, confident woman to a dependent, damsel-in-distress. Her character didn't even receive a proper marriage proposal. Hildy began depending upon a man to receive her self-worth. It was a typical classical Hollywood move, but insulting nonetheless.
Rating: **** (4 out of 10)
