tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post6836710417814231557..comments2024-03-28T02:30:08.913-04:00Comments on Not Just Movies: Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-30987439830204865802011-06-29T22:18:44.663-04:002011-06-29T22:18:44.663-04:00I enjoy all three films greatly, but there is just...I enjoy all three films greatly, but there is just something about BUB that wins me over to its side. I think it's that hostility that gets me. Hepburn was still two years out from her softened reinvention with <i>The Philadelphia Story</i>, but she managed to keep her prickliness here but get around it with the thoughtlessness with which she plays Susan. She's no fool, but she is also so id-driven that she never stops to consider anything, pressing on even when she could smooth everything over by being just a bit clearer. And Grant is a marvel, just falling apart at the seams as if in a psychological thriller. And when he finally surrenders, she destroys him anyway. It's so dark, but so damn funny.Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-50381859264995941762011-06-29T14:19:20.219-04:002011-06-29T14:19:20.219-04:00Great piece, Jake. This film is nuts. Hepburn'...Great piece, Jake. This film is nuts. Hepburn's character is basically a lunatic and a stalker and her way of seducing Grant is to more or less assault him and annoy him and destroy his life. And poor Grant just gets more and more frazzled until he totally gives up on escaping her advances, and at that point she destroys his life's work... and that's the happy ending! It's bonkers, and as hysterical as it is it's almost understandable that audiences of the time didn't go for it. It's a kind of hostile comedy and it doesn't leave any room to breathe or relax.<br /><br />I much prefer <i>His Girl Friday</i> among Hawks' comedies, and I think <i>Holiday</i> (a more or less perfect film) is a better, deeper Grant/Hepburn pairing, but this one has its own weird appeal too.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.com