This is meant as a screwball comedy, with clever banter and crazy scenes. There are a few, especially when Powell and Loy are together. It's Nick and Nora except that Nora is liberated here. In fact, so liberated she's domineering, and it's up to Nick to take her down.
The storyline, told by other reviewers, is fine, and there's one classic exchange:
Powell: What were you going to say?
Loy: Nothing.
Powell: Don't you want to talk about something?
Loy: Yes. Do you take dope?
But the rest is talky and flat. The pratfalls are derivative and contrived, even the chaotic ending, which actually lifts a drunk "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" routine from the previous year's After the Thin Man. And John Beal playing Ralph Bellamy is just annoying. I love Jessie Ralph, but here she's a bit over-the-top, not as funny as she was playing the old battle-ax in After the Thin Man. All this I lay on Richard Thorpe, a routine director, who was prized more for coming in under budget than doing anything outstanding.
If you're a Powell-Loy fan, they have their usual enjoyable encounters, but its a slog getting from one to the other.
The storyline, told by other reviewers, is fine, and there's one classic exchange:
Powell: What were you going to say?
Loy: Nothing.
Powell: Don't you want to talk about something?
Loy: Yes. Do you take dope?
But the rest is talky and flat. The pratfalls are derivative and contrived, even the chaotic ending, which actually lifts a drunk "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" routine from the previous year's After the Thin Man. And John Beal playing Ralph Bellamy is just annoying. I love Jessie Ralph, but here she's a bit over-the-top, not as funny as she was playing the old battle-ax in After the Thin Man. All this I lay on Richard Thorpe, a routine director, who was prized more for coming in under budget than doing anything outstanding.
If you're a Powell-Loy fan, they have their usual enjoyable encounters, but its a slog getting from one to the other.