Yogi's Movie Consumption Blog

Two stories of policemen falling in and out of love. I loved the story with Faye Wong - her character's carelessness and (slightly creepy) stalking of the police man she falls in love with is engaging to watch. Some people argued that this would be a horror movie if the genders would have been reversed, but I don't think that the film should be taken realistically anyway. I've seen it as a beautifully dreamed up fantasy about romance. The other thing I noted that it's really funny. It has so many comedic overtones that ventured on the absurd. I enjoyed the policeman calling his former lovers, just to find somebody he could talk to. At one point he ends up calling a girl he went to fourth grade with - she obviously has not the slightest idea who he is. Another great moment is when the shop owner is supposed to deliver a "very personal" letter - and literally everybody in the shop gets to read it. Also the side kicks were carefully cast and they too...

A housing shortage in Washington leads to a bizarre flat share of McCrea, Arthur and Coburn. The film is one of those romantic comedy prototypes. Which means you can guess the ending pretty early, the exchanges are witty and there is a big breakup somewhere in the middle. But with Coburn thrown into the mix the whole thing became way more unpredictable and for me way more enjoyable. The demeanor with which Coburn sets up the whole affair between McCrea and Arthur is just amazing. And I have to admit that I loved that little scene with the trousers. Totally silly, but in its harmless way a great deal of fun. There were a couple of other scenes like that, but this one just stuck to my mind. Some of the jokes are a little "stagey" - woman is in one room, man in the other, they meet in the hallway, walk back into their respective rooms, come out again, act surprised. This is run-of-the-mill fun, not very clever. But many other little visual jokes are. Like what happen...

A shop clerk falls in love with a woman through letters while squabbling with the young lady he gave a position in the shop. A very play-like story, most of it taking place in the shop and in the manager's office, and as a apron the store door in the morning. The story is pretty straightforward and is entirely set in the daily universe of the participants.  I like how all the different characters story came together in the end and the story only had to rely on very few "information bringers" - there is the detective reporting the infidelities of his wife to Matuschek - and even there he is only shown once to clear up the store owner's mistake. There was a strong nostalgic and (obviously) Christmasy atmosphere throughout the film, but it was still quite enjoyable.

A rich director tries to research the life of the poor by unsuccessfully living as a tramp. I could feel that this movie is following some kind of blueprint for romantic comedy, or maybe, invented it for itself. The plot is quite predictable and the twists are silly to say the least. Most of it seems to work due to the absolutely amazing screen presence of Lake. There are some interesting playful attempts at nudity - the shower scene for example must have given the censors a headache and make Sturges grin diabolically.