***
Director: Gregory La Cava
Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, Jean Dixon
My Man Godfrey is a depression-era slapstick comedy, poking fun at the silliness of the overly wealthy. Carole Lombard plays Irene Bullock, a young upper-class woman who is a member of perhaps the most out of control, ridiculous family ever. She comes across Godfrey (William Powell) at the city dump, trying to bribe him into being her "forgotten man" for an upper-crust scavenger hunt. Offended and bent on teaching the Bullocks a lesson, he goes along with it and even accepts a position as the Bullocks' butler. Unbeknownst to the family, Godfrey is actually an upper-crust gentleman himself.
The comedy is slapstick and the story is absolutely absurd, but it is a pleasant movie. Lombard and Powell are both wildly amusing, though at times the other women in the film overdid the shrill squabbling to a point that it almost gave me a headache. I enjoyed it though, and I'd recommend it to someone in the mood for a laugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment