Classic comedy

Jeffry 2022-01-03 08:01:14

This is a comedy of the three stars, and it is also a very representative light comedy film work by Gary Grant. It is the mature expression of his comedy art. Cooperate with director George Cook.

In the film, there is an ex-husband, a fiance who is about to get married, and a reporter sprang out in the middle. Tracy is dealing with these three people. The three men are not bad guys. They just represent three different values ​​in life. The plot and dialogue are quite tortuous and deep. The final result seems very dramatic, but in fact it is inevitable.

Gary Grant played the ex-husband Dexter. At the beginning, the scene of their husband and wife falling out and the divorce and separation was quite dramatic. Two years later, Tracy's family is preparing to get married again. At this time, Dexter brought two reporters into her home to report on the marriage. So the ex-husband entered the family again.

Dexter and Tracy grew up together, childhood sweethearts, but because they couldn't bear with each other, Dexter began to drink heavily, which led to the breakdown of their marriage. He actually understands his problems and also understands Tracy. He still loves her in his heart, but Tracy does not really love him, which makes him feel hurt and painful. He uses alcohol to pour his sorrows, but then he no longer drinks too much. His role in the film is actually quite difficult to grasp. On the one hand, he has changed his mind and still has feelings for Tracy, but when Tracy is getting married, he can only send his own blessings. He also needs to deal with this family and arrange the activities of the reporter, especially when he meets the reporter with Tracy and Tracy's fiancé, it is actually a bit embarrassing. But he has to behave like a gentleman and maintain a normal friendship with Tracy, but he still has dissatisfaction with her in his heart, and he can't help but get into arguing and cynicism because of the previous events. When Tracy made a misunderstanding, he didn't doubt her because he knew her, and even tried to help explain, although he didn't succeed. Then when Tracy was in a bad mood, he came to comfort her and take care of her, being so gentle and considerate to her. Of course, when Tracy broke up with his fiance, he was very happy. In fact, Tracy also appreciates his talents, and likes the wedding gift he gave-a model of a yacht called "True Love", which he specially designed when they got married. When she suspected that she had done something wrong, she thought she was sorry for Dexter. In fact, from these details, you will feel that they are very suitable. They understand each other and have the same values. The previous separation is only an episode of contradictions between the two, but marriage requires a running-in. Just like Dexter's lines inside-if you accept me, accept everything about me. People are imperfect and make mistakes. Therefore, love also includes accepting imperfect parts.

Although this film tells the story of the wealthy class, it does not fall into stereotypes. Although the setting of the storyline cannot get around this topic, the film is just a light touch. The focus is to show the deep-seated spiritual things such as marriage, emotions, and values. Is this a relatively fresh idea at the time? Personally, I prefer topics with a little depth, which can arouse people's further thinking and discussion. Tracy in the film has high standards, both to others and herself. She is beautiful and proud and pursues perfection. Both George and Mike were attracted by her beautiful side, and they both worshiped her as a goddess, but they didn't necessarily really understand her or what she needed. And Dexter has lived with her, it is difficult to hide shortcomings and weaknesses in an intimate relationship, so they understand each other, but they may not be able to see the essence. It was because Tracy could not tolerate Dexter's imperfections that he would not accept him to blame him, which made him feel sad, painful and drunk, which led to the breakdown of his marriage. But Dexter estimated that after reflecting on it, he understood his problem, so he corrected the evil and stopped drinking. He also understands that Tracy has shortcomings as well. In fact, no one is perfect. Therefore, he just treats Tracy as an ordinary woman. But Tracy obviously didn't understand her problem at the beginning. She only saw Dexter drinking and seeing his shortcomings, she would only blame him, and didn't care about his needs. As Dexter said during their quarrel, she might have done this unconsciously, but she could not tolerate imperfection as a fact, and it did cause harm. Imagine, is this scene in marriage familiar? At the same time, Dexter pointed out to her that George was actually not suitable for her. Dexter's words seemed to wake Tracy at this moment. The conversation was wonderful, sensible, insightful, in-depth, and even sharp.

As the plot progresses, we can see the effects of this conversation begin to emerge. Tracy is further testing George's feelings for her, but the more he understands, the more disappointed they seem to be. They don't match spiritually. Because they met Mike in the library, they found a common topic. As Mike learned more about Tracy, he was also attracted by her perfection, but he didn't know her very well. From Tracy's attitude towards her father, she also couldn't accept her father's behavior, but her mother actually did not. She chose to listen and believe, and his father criticized her further. At the prom, Tracy was already in a bad mood. Originally, she didn't drink, so she drank a few more glasses. Then she became unconscious and a dramatic incident happened. This process is also very exciting. Tracy is usually too perfect, but this incident made her feel the consequences of doing something wrong. The attitudes of the three men also reflected their respective values ​​in their respective positions. Mike was sober and held the bottom line. Although George and Dexter saw the same scene, their views and judgments were quite different. One was guilty, and the other was innocent based on understanding. In fact, it shows that George does not trust Tracy very much, and he thinks his wife should Behave well; and Dexter trusts her because he knows her, and chooses to forgive her. When he saw Tracy's depression, he went to comfort her, cared about her, and saw that she blamed herself for her mistakes. Instead, he saw the beauty of the real Tracy. She was no longer proud and could realize her own problems, but he She is not allowed to think badly about herself. He treated her as a normal woman. When the last critical juncture came, Tracy began to mature, willing to bear the consequences that he caused. When she discovered that Dexter was willing to marry her, the first thing she thought of was her own shortcomings and said that she would improve it. Dexter was willing to take the risk again, even though he had been injured before. So far we believe that they are willing to continue to work hard for a better future, and their marriage will become more stable this time.

This film was very successful, and I think Gary Grant’s performance is indispensable. It's hard to imagine that others can play this role so well. James Stewart won the best actor award, and the director and film were also nominated. Catherine Hepburn has successfully returned to the popular actress. Unfortunately, Gary Grant has nothing. I think this is one of the very good films played by Gary Grant, especially in the aspect of comedy. It has neither exaggerated performance, but also a good grasp of the subtle situation of the role, and it also drove other people’s performances and his expressions. , Eyes, witty dialogue, humorous irony, and such a tacit cooperation with Catherine Hepburn, all well demonstrated his mature acting skills and confident and attractive screen image.

Gary Grant and Catherine Hepburn worked very well together, and their acting and comedy cooperation worked very well. But this film is the last of their collaboration. Later, Hepburn began a journey of cooperation with Spencer Qusser.

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Extended Reading

The Philadelphia Story quotes

  • George Kittredge: I'm going to build you an ivory tower with my own two hands.

    Tracy Lord: Like fun you are.

  • Uncle Willie: Must we ride in this thing? Wouldn't we be more comfortable on pogo sticks?