Only Tennessee Williams would write a Christmas comedy in which a newlywed couple get in a blow-up fight and can't stop yelling at each other. The notorious dramatist wrote his first comedic play Period of Adjustment, and Jim Hutton and Jane Fonda star as the Southern bickering couple in the film adaptation. They're both cute as a button, but there's just a little too much shouting to make this an annual Christmas movie in my house.
When Jim was in the hospital after his stint in Korea, he fell in love with his nurse, Jane. They were married just before Christmas, and on Christmas Eve, they decide to visit Jim's wartime buddy Anthony Franciosa, whose wife just left him. Their entire two-day-old marriage is in shambles, and they don't see eye to eye on anything. Together, the three of them try to work both marriages out.
While it's marketed as a comedy, it's hardly a laugh-out-loud riot. It appeals to the cynics in the audience who have a bad marriage and will chuckle when they someone else in the same boat. In other words, it appeals to Tennessee Williams fans. If it weren't for Jim's handsome face and Jane's adorable Southern hairdo and accent, I probably wouldn't have gotten through the movie—let alone at Christmastime.
When Jim was in the hospital after his stint in Korea, he fell in love with his nurse, Jane. They were married just before Christmas, and on Christmas Eve, they decide to visit Jim's wartime buddy Anthony Franciosa, whose wife just left him. Their entire two-day-old marriage is in shambles, and they don't see eye to eye on anything. Together, the three of them try to work both marriages out.
While it's marketed as a comedy, it's hardly a laugh-out-loud riot. It appeals to the cynics in the audience who have a bad marriage and will chuckle when they someone else in the same boat. In other words, it appeals to Tennessee Williams fans. If it weren't for Jim's handsome face and Jane's adorable Southern hairdo and accent, I probably wouldn't have gotten through the movie—let alone at Christmastime.