• Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
    • Recent Reviews
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact

My Favorite Movies 59: Born Yesterday (George Cukor, 1950)

November 10, 2014

George Cukor was always known as a “woman’s” director.  I was never quite sure whether he was called that just because he directed The Women, because he chose screenplays that attempted to address issues of gender in a more forward thinking manner than his contemporaries, or because his homosexuality was all but out of the closet in a time when such a sexual orientation would definitely keep him from being a “man’s director.” Either way, Born Yesterday is undoubtedly a “woman’s film”–in the sense that it is entirely about a woman learning to own her shit.

The story is simple, almost to a fault.  Dumb blond gets herself some book learning (thanks, of course, to a just the right side of patronizing man) and realizes she can do better than the cruel oaf she’s currently with.  In the process she learns some just the wrong side of heavy-handed lessons about how great democracy is until the obligatory final wedding to the nice guy (spoiler alert).  But anyone that tells you romantic comedy stories have to be full of layers of nuanced depth has no right to be talking about what makes a good romantic comedy.  In this case, the sparkling script, masterful filmmaking, and superb performances do more for the film than any kind of more complex story could have.

Judy Holliday really steals the show here.  Everyone always bitches about her getting the best actress Oscar over Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson, but just because her performance is for a romantic comedy, it’s just as good as Davis and Swanson in either of the other more “serious” movies.  Holliday has that certain something that only rare actresses like Marilyn Monroe had.  There is a genuineness to her performance that is utterly disarming–even the simplest of glances from her carries more authentic weight than any other actress of her day.  It was no surprise to find out that in real life Holliday was incredibly smart–and her intelligence shines through in her performance, giving her dumb blond character much greater depth than any other actress could have brought to the role.

I really shouldn’t shit on the storyline too much either.  While the ra-ra-America stuff can get a little eye rolling in places, the premise is a classic. Two unlikely lovers are forced to spend time together (in this case, Holliday and Holden’s “smart guy writer” that has been hired to give her some class) and slowly end up falling in love.  With a lesser director at the helm and a lesser script this would have merely been an enjoyable movie with a brilliant central performance.  Instead, Born Yesterday raises the bar for romantic comedies to the ceiling, and is easily the best film about an uncultured dame falling for a nerd since Ball of Fire (and is, thankfully, nowhere near as creepy as Pygmalion et al).

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share

Film  / My Favorite Movies

2 Comments


Shena
November 17, 2014 at 11:42 pm
Reply

I love this movie. (and William Holden is soooo great in it, too.)



Isley Unruh
December 2, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Reply

Yeah, he did a good job not being too patronizing and trying to Holiday Affair her.



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Recent Comments

    • Shane on Top Ten Best Classic Black Metal Logos
    • BBK on Five More Signs That the Underground Metal Band You Are Listening to Might be Racist
    • Anonymous on Boys will be Boys: Double Standards in McLintock! and The Awful Truth.
    • isley.unruh on Brilliant Board Games 1 – Krosmaster: Arena
    • Boosh on Brilliant Board Games 1 – Krosmaster: Arena
  • Recent Posts

    • RTfISP 11: Operation Moses
    • Notes from the Library
    • Top five 2023 New Year’s Resolutions for www.isleyunruh.com
    • Painting in Miniature 6: Blood Bowl
    • Minor Key Music 87: New Model Army – The Hunt
  • Categories

    • Art (5)
    • Books (12)
      • Only the Good Parts (6)
    • Comics (6)
    • Film (249)
      • Best Movies of the Decade (2)
      • Best Movies of the Year (5)
      • Cinema Scripture School (4)
      • James Bond Picture Books (2)
      • Mini Movie Reviews (98)
      • My Favorite Movies (78)
      • Year in Reviews (6)
    • Food and Cooking (9)
    • Games (52)
      • Brilliant Board Games (2)
      • Descent D&D (7)
      • Mini Board Game Reviews (12)
      • Painting in Miniature (6)
      • RE-Zork (10)
    • Holidays (21)
      • April Fool's (8)
      • Halloween (2)
    • Internet (30)
      • Memes I Missed (21)
      • The Art of Trolling (4)
    • Lists (49)
    • Mailbag Monday (86)
    • Math and Science (3)
    • Me (60)
      • Rousing Tales from Isley's Spirited Past (12)
    • Metal Music (121)
      • Album Artwork for the Ages (3)
      • Battle Vests of the KVLT & TR00 (3)
      • Best Metal of the Year (6)
      • Extreme Metal Radio Edits (2)
      • Mid-month Metal Masterpiece (74)
      • Racism in Metal (6)
    • Myth and Fantasy (8)
      • Archetypical (4)
    • Nerd Open Letters (20)
    • Non-Metal Music (102)
      • Minor Key Music (90)
    • Other (2)
    • Philosophy (3)
    • Sports and Fitness (7)
    • Spotlight Posts (60)
    • Tales from Center Valley High (19)
      • Goth Blog (6)
      • Jock Blog (7)
      • Snob Blog (6)
    • Tolkien (97)
      • The Lost Chapters (6)
      • Travels in Middle-earth (76)
    • TV (5)
    • War (7)
  • Archives

  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org



  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
© Copyright www.isleyunruh.com