BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

classicsoncall I guess there's a fine line between screwball comedy and slapstick. This one came down a bit more on the slapstick side once it got going and left me somewhat unsatisfied, even with the caliber of players in the lead roles. Cary Grant was a veteran of these kinds of pictures, but for a better definition of 'screwball', you'd have to check him out in "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Gal Friday", both from a decade earlier.Something occurred to me as I watched this and I never mentioned it before, but there's always a first time. Have you ever noticed, no matter how big the star or their celebrity appeal, it all seems to go by the boards when they step into a 1950's era kitchen and the appliances make things feel so outdated. That's the first thing that hit me when the Fulton's (Grant and Ginger Rogers) entered their home for the first time. Not that it bothers me because that's just the way things were, but it's something of a shocker when you see it today considering all the modern gadgetry we have available now. Just an observation.Now Marilyn Monroe, it didn't help her real life persona to be cast in a role like this because she had to carry that dumb blonde personality around all throughout her short career. If she had gotten more roles like the her character Roslyn Taber in "The Misfits", well, who knows, her self esteem might have taken her on an entirely different course. As it is, we'll never know.So getting back to the story, we come to find out that at least in this case, the old fountain of youth is not all that it's cracked up to be, especially when monkeyshines are involved. Speaking of which, I wish the chimp who performed here was credited for the role, it had the best facial expressions of any I've ever seen, and that would include Cheeta from all those Tarzan flicks of old. You know, Cheeta lived to the ripe old age of seventy nine, so when Barnaby described 'Rudolph' as being eighty four, the writers wouldn't have been too far off the mark. But then again, they had 'Esther' on screen, so who would ever know?After all the hi-jinx, the story finally comes around to the message we probably all were waiting for, that is, the idea expressed in my summary line delivered by Barnaby Fulton. Another way of expressing it would have been the way Barnaby replied to Miss Laurel (Monroe) when she asked him if his motor was running - "Is yours?"

weezeralfalfa The plot of this farce is very simple: Industrial chemist Barnaby(Cary Grant) has been trying for some years to create a concoction that makes us feel young again. Along comes one of his Chimp "guinea pigs", which escaped from her cage, and mixes a concoction that she pours into the empty water cooler, presumably to see if it does anything interesting to the imbibers. Result: it has dramatic effects on the behavior of imbibers: the more they drink, the farther back in time is their behavior, but only temporarily unless they keep on imbibing. Initially, Cary and Ginger Rogers act like well off college kids. After this wears off, they unknowingly drink a bigger dose and revert to the behavior of 10 year olds. Cary's boss, played by Charles Colburn, is even treated to the claim by Ginger that the toddler she brought with her is actually Cary! This is the second Hollywood film entitled "Monkey Business" that I am aware of. The 1931 Marx Brothers film lacks any monkeys or apes. but includes plenty of "monkey business". Of course, the comedic persona of the brothers was very different from that of Cary or Ginger. Theirs is rooted in vaudeville, emphasizing rapid-fire one liners, insults and physical slapstick, and usually incorporating a number of musical productions here and there(to the irritation of those who believe that music should be kept out of or minimized in comedies). From what I have seen, Cary usually tries to maintain a dignified composure even in the face of comedic adversity. An exception occurs when he is supposed to be acting as a 10 year old. Then, he and Ginger act more like Laurel and Hardy, for example. Typically, the screenplays of both are quite absurd. If that bothers you, better leave them for the kids to watch. In general, I find the humor in Cary comedies to be slow to develop, and inferior in total comedic content to that of various other contemporary comedians, despite the lack of musical interludes. This is true of the present film, although it's funnier than most Cary comedies I've Seen. Marylyn Monroe, in serving as Charles Colburn's non-too-talented secretary, is cast as mostly a buxom "straight man" and Cary's temporary companion, when he was feeling 20ish, for part of a day.In the end, after the remainder of the rejuvenating potion was inadvertently poured down the sink, with the formula unknown, Cary and Ginger conclude that what he has been chasing is too dangerous and not really that helpful, that: "You're old only when you forget you are young". Of course, today, we have an ever expanding stock of cosmetic, as well as, fundamental means of turning the clock back for many people, or reducing the speed of aging, in the first place.Especially recommended for children of a certain age.

jarrodmcdonald-1 No, it's not the Marx Brothers in 1931. It's Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, and they are headlining a 20th Century Fox motion picture directed by Howard Hawks (one of many that Grant and Hawks made together). In true Hawksian fashion, the keyword is 'screwball.' That means one absurd moment gets piled on top of the next. Until all of a sudden, all heck breaks loose and a comic free-for-all ensues. In this picture, the leads play a couple that seem to be growing old as well as growing young together thanks to a rejuvenation serum. There is an uproarious sequence where Miss Rogers thinks Mr. Grant has become a baby. Charles Coburn costars as the meddling boss, and Marilyn Monroe is the secretary who must find someone who can type his correspondence. (Coburn and Monroe would re-team later in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, continuing their version of a perversely funny couple.)Careful, there's a banana peel on the floor...

trimmerb1234 Ironic that the plot revolves around an industrial chemist and his magic formula because this is a film with all the right ingredients but no magic.One can only guess that everyone thought that the list of names made reading the wordy script beforehand unnecessary.Grant, as ever impeccably groomed and dressed, is supposed to be the ultimate absent-minded professor/Mr Magoo figure - a point it wearily labours even including the pebble glasses in case the audience missed the point.A miscast Ginger Rogers, no great comedienne, is rather too old for the frolics called for. It was a part for Rosalind Russell.Charles Coburn, superb character actor, does all that was required of him.But the monkey, how did he manage to remove the lock to his cage then all in one take cross to the laboratory bench and confidently manipulate the various beakers and containers? Best monkey performance award definitely deserved.