Premise: A millionaire hires a smart reporter to make his fiancé more presentable to high society.
I only know of this movie
because Judy Holliday not only beat Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
but also Bette Davis and Anne Baxter in All About Eve for the Best
Actress Oscar that year. I came in hot to this movie. Sunset Boulevard
and All About Eve are two of my absolute favorite movies, and the
actresses are what make those movies so great. Swanson, Davis, and Baxter each
give all-time performances, so what the hell was Judy Holliday doing with the
Oscar?
Much to my surprise though, having seen the movie, I'm OK with Holliday's win. I still would've picked any of the three other actresses over her, but she's at least at their level. And, I can always say that Davis and Baxter canceled each other out in the voting. Judy Holliday is really good in this movie. I was so surprised by her and the way the movie played out.
Early on, they set the movie up as a Pygmalion or My Fair Lady story. Holliday's Billie is loud, uneducated, and uncouth. I was fully expecting the montage that ends with her picking up a mid-Atlantic accept while talking about Kierkegaard. That doesn't happen though. She talks the same way the whole time and never becomes demure in the traditional sense. She experiences personal growth though. She gets more educated and becomes proud of who she is. I was expecting a performance that was making fun of how she was acting at the beginning. Instead, it finds pride in it. It's really a wonderful performance. Unless the fifth nominee that year, Eleanor Parker in Caged, is truly dreadful, I think this might be the strongest Best Actress lineup ever. And that's saying something.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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