Tag: jack lemmon

When you’re in love with a married man, you shouldn’t wear mascara. “The Apartment” (1960)

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directed by Billy Wilder
© 1960 United Artists. All Rights Reserved.

Nominated in 10 categories, finally won 5 Oscars, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: “The Apartment” – the story about cheating, drinking alcohol and all that in just one flat. The Academy used to have different values back then (honestly, wouldn’t mind if they reevaluated their current views, to be honest). Anyway, seriously speaking, this is an adorable comedy about choosing between love and professional growth. The main character is Bud (Jack Lemmon), who’s working in a national insurance corporation. He really wishes to get promoted and tries his best to impress all the important people at work. Except the fact that he does everything he’s asked to and is a very conscientious worker, there’s one more thing that people appreciate him for. And it’s his flat. Because Bud doesn’t mind borrowing his place to whoever wants it. What might be middle-aged managers from New York doing in such a borrowed flat? Obviously, drinking alcohol and having sex with anyone but their wives. It doesn’t bother Bud, because it’s not his life and all he’s doing is not getting home before 8 pm. However, things do change when Bud falls in love with an elevator operator from his company building, Fran (Shirley MacLaine). Falling in love doesn’t seem to be a problem, but the fact that Bud’s boss (Fred MacMurray) is having an affair with the woman… well, that makes things way more complicated. It is said that the film is partially based on a real story that happened in Hollywood, where one producer’s wife was having an affair with another man and those two were meeting at some employee’s flat. Drama, drama, drama. Anyway, I’m a fan of Billy Wilder and I adore his style, so I totally recommend you to see this production. Even though this film really is about alcohol and sex with strangers, there’s a cute love story hidden there, so I approve all those Oscars given a long time ago. Oh and you must see Jack Lemmon singing while cooking pasta (which was improvised by the actor, by the way) and straining it using a tennis racket. That’s the king of cooking we don’t deserve in our life.

My rating: 7/10
S.

You’re making it very difficult for me to like you. “Buddy Buddy” (1981)

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directed by Billy Wilder
© 1981 United Artists. All Rights Reserved.

I think we all need a good comedy on this wonderful… Thursday. Because why not? Today’s film is a bit old (about 40 years), but it still makes me laugh when I think of some dialogues and scenes from it. Perhaps it’s a bit goofy, but even now, in 2020, I feel like that’s a decent comedy. Well-written, with fantastic actors, hilarious jokes (silly ones, but still) and generally this cheerful atmosphere. So now you know that no matter what you’ll read in a second, this is a film worth your time. And the story goes like this: we follow two men – Trabucco (Walter Matthau) and Victor (Jack Lemmon). Trabucco is a very grumpy hitman, who needs to get rid of one important man. Unfortunately, he might have some difficulties doing it, because he meets Victor. And Victor is an incredibly depressed guy, who’s just broken up with his girlfriend. I mean, she’s broken up with him, so the man cannot handle it and wants to commit suicide. Both men are staying at one hotel, so when Victor is trying to kill himself, Trabucco notices that. Obviously, for a hitman like him, it doesn’t matter if some random guy dies. The problem is that he would make a huge scene out of it and the criminal wouldn’t be able to attack his target. Therefore, Trabucco decides to help him and Victor starts seeing a real friend in his saviour. Obviously, the hitman doesn’t say anything about his profession and those two become some kind of “partners in crime.” Anyway, this film wasn’t much appreciated back then. Klaus Kinski (one of the actors) even said: “the best thing for me about “Buddy Buddy” was that not very many people saw it.” That’s a bit harsh, I would say. I guess it’s because Billy Wilder, the director, was known for his fantastic productions and people expected him to create something even better. But all artists need a little break, a slightly worse piece. This film isn’t a masterpiece and I agree it can be hard to say it’s Wilder’s best production. Still, I wanted a relaxing comedy with this typical Wilder’s sense of humour and that’s what I got. Give it a try yourselves.

My rating: 6.5/10
S.