Two down-on-their-luck jazz musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in an auto garage. The gangsters, wanting no witnesses are hot on their tails. The resourceful musicians find refuge with an all-girl traveling band. The only catch is that they have to cross-dress in order to fit in.
While the movie offers some genuinely funny moments, it felt rather dated to me. While it's hard to believe that this film was, at one time, considered edgy, in the 50s cross-dressing was shocking and Some Like It Hot was one of the few films to feature men dressing as women. Being a comedy probably helped it seem acceptable, but growing up in the 90s with movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, cross-dressing for comedy wasn't big deal for me. The shock value is lost on me and much of the humor that may have originated with this film now seems recycled.
Curtis and Lemmon both end up falling for a girl in the traveling band (Marilyn Monroe) and they end up in all sorts of humorous situations that were more or less lost on me. I was able to acknowledge the fact that this movie was sort of groundbreaking, but I disagree with the American Film Institute, which named Some Like It Hot as the funniest movie ever made. But maybe that’s because I’m not in the geriatric ward of a hospital.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
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