Delayed Reaction: The Apartment

The Pitch: Everyone falls in love with Shirley MacLaine, but Jack Lemmon does even more.

I didn't realize it before I start it, but I was all but guaranteed to love The Apartment. It's not for any of the obvious reasons you'd think, like Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, or Billy Wilder. No, it's because I love the movie Loser. Loser is by all accounts, a bad movie, or at least a poorly received one. I like it for Amy Heckerling's writing and direction as well as charming performances from Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari. But, most people look at it as a very poor follow up to Clueless that tries to mooch off American Pie's success. To each their own.

Well, Loser is, I now realize, kind of the same movie as The Apartment. There's some differences in the details and critical response, but the films are very similar in structure. So, I like Loser. I like The Apartment. It only makes sense.

Now, unlike Loser, I don't have to convince anyone that The Apartment is a great movie. It won 5 Oscars including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. It's widely regarded as one of the 2 or 3 best films of the legendary director (Billy Wilder). I really like how the story turns midway through with MacLaine's suicide attempt. I've always liked Lemmon, but I hadn't seen MacLaine in enough films to really have an opinion about her until now. I guess you'd say I'm "pro-MacLaine" now. I feel if I go on any longer about this film, I'll dip back into Loser discussion, which no one (except me) wants.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend