Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

secondtake Kiss Them for Me (1957)"Funny how everybody picks him out first." Ah, they are talking about Cary Grant, still charming and handsome and far outclassing this funny, slightly simple comedy about G.I.s on leave in San Francisco.Not that this is exactly dumb--the screenplay is even by one of the Epstein brothers (of "Casablanca" fame), and it has a few real dingers of jokes. I was laughing in stitches--sometimes. It's silly stuff but the acting is decent. The photography is by Milton Krasner, who had a long career in the black and white years and then took to widescreen color with classic taste, just finishing "An Affair to Remember" (with Grant) the same year. The credits go on, from makeup (Ben Nye) to music (Lionel Newman) to of course the director, Stanley Donen, who had a whole string of brightly colored 1950s hits, little things like "Singin' in the Rain" and "Charade."What I mean by all this is that there is no reason this movie isn't terrific, except maybe a weak as licorice story idea. Maybe, just maybe, this had resonance in 1957 with the millions of ex-soldiers still going to the movies, but I have a feeling even they were wanting something more, over a decade after it had all ended. It also doesn't help that one leading female star is Jayne Mansfield playing an embarrassing Marilyn wannabe. "It's natural," says Mansfield in one moment. "Except for the color." The other leading woman is quite the opposite in nature, a stately, restrained woman played by Suzy Parker. Parker has a short resume, mostly known as a model (with Avedon as her partner in crime), and her acting reveals more knowledge of photography than movie-making. That is, she looks good. (She was actually an accomplished photographer for awhile, too.)So, why watch this movie? For a glimpse of the times, perhaps (a kind of 1957 version of 1944, I think), including lots of great sets and some shots of San Francisco. But mostly it's Cary Grant's show, even if you aren't a fan. He's actually really good as an actor, not just as a handsome fellow. He plays his part with surprising bite, too. So what rescues this movie from its fault lines? For one, there's a steady, subtle anti-war thread that must have been relatively new to this kind of movie. There's no disrespect to soldiers or the country, but there's disdain for wallpapering over the truths of war, the use of slogans, the aggrandizing. It's refreshing still, and coming from Grant it has special bite. For another, there is a steady peppering of witty lines from all kinds of characters (not just Grant, though he leads). I'm guessing this is where Epstein shows. And then there is the love story, which isn't so convincing, but it's still a nice addition to the bright color and busy scenes that dominate the movie. In fact, as much as Parker is a weak actress, she and Grant alone together make for some of the best parts of the film.Grant says, "True love almost always fades, but money stays green forever." And it's his sarcasm, his not believing the slogan, that is the theme of the movie.

dglink The mildly amusing World War II romantic comedy, "Kiss Them for Me," has little that will linger in memory beyond the closing credits. Three navy officers stop a taxiing plane on the runway and hitch a ride for an unofficial leave in San Francisco, where they spend four days in a luxury hotel suite chasing women, drinking booze, and making fools out of the shore patrol. Credibility is not among the film's assets. Cary Grant is always smooth and likable in these breezy parts, although his age and British accent remain unexplained. However, Cary gets away with these anomalies, and he is under the sure direction of Stanley Donen, who keeps things light. This director/star team went on to make two more memorable films together, "The Grass is Greener" and the classic "Charade." Beyond the preposterous plot, another credibility gap surfaces when Grant and Suzy Parker fall for each other. Parker is leaden as Grant's love interest. The supposedly romantic couple has zero chemistry, and Grant and Parker do their best to avoid locking lips or showing mutual warmth. Such are the mysteries of true love in the 1950's. However, Jayne Mansfield is a delight as the not-too-bright Alice Kratzner, whose hair is natural, except for the color. Mansfield lights up the film, and she is missed, both physically and comically, when off screen. Larry Blyden and Ray Walston play Grant's sidekicks, and both are fine, although subtlety is not a hallmark of anyone's performance. Donen keeps his performers moving and maintains a lively pace, although the film's stage origins are evident.Despite the romantic black hole of the Grant-Parker romance, "Kiss them for Me" is a frothy couple of hours, although, with the exception of a new respect for Jayne Mansfield, the film's ephemeral charms will dissipate before "The End" has faded from the screen.

MartinHafer While I recently gave OPERATION PETTICOAT a positive review, I really didn't like this film even though it had so many similarities. Both were made just a few years apart, both starred Cary Grant and both were WWII comedies. However, the overall tone and style of the films were quite different. KISS HER FOR ME, overall, just seemed like a cheaper film--with poor writing, little energy and some VERY broad performances--even when compared to OPERATION PETTICOAT. I think that at least much of the blame for this lies in casting Jayne Mansfield. The combination of her ample talents and limited acting ability really made this A-budget film look like it came from a 3rd rate studio. Plus, there wasn't much chemistry or energy in pairing her with Cary Grant--an actor generally loved for his grace and class. It's sort of like pairing Sir Lawrence Olivier with Marjorie Main.By the way, if you do watch, look for Werner Klemperer in an unusual roles as US Navy officer. Not exactly Colonel Klink!

wglenn Kiss Them For Me has a lot to offer - Cary Grant, Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain, Charade) as director, and Julius Epstein (Casablanca, Arsenic & Old Lace) as screenwriter - but it never really lives up to its potential. There are some funny moments here and there, but the film is more of a drama with comic elements, and the balance doesn't always work well. Viewers expecting one of Cary Grant's great comedic romps will be disappointed. Still, it's not a bad film, just an uneven one.The story is about three Navy fliers, each considered a "war hero," who embark on a four-day leave in San Francisco. They secure the "Ambassador's Suite" in a fine hotel and order up tons of liquor for their large, rowdy parties, where there are three women for every man. In the end, however, they don't get to relax and momentarily forget the war as much as they have to deal with the awkwardness between the civilian world and their own. They also have to confront the reality of life after the war. Grant, in particular, realizes that he's good at what he does (flying planes), and he's giving himself to a worthy cause that's bigger than himself, neither of which he may be able to do outside of the Pacific theatre. He's offered more than one chance to turn his reputation as a war hero into a cushy job, but he sees the emptiness and boredom that waits for him in the normal American lifestyle. Instead of talking with the powerful owner of a shipbuilding company who could help him with his financial future, he sits on the floor listening to jazz and flirting with the owner's fiancée.Unfortunately, Donen and Epstein don't seem to trust these dramatic elements and inject a poorly developed romance into the film, which undoes some otherwise good writing and leads, finally, to a flat ending. Maybe if they'd found a suitable female lead to play off Grant, the romance would have worked better, but Suzy Parker is stiff and wooden on screen, and her character grows wearisome after a while. The best that can be said for her is that she provides a little relief from the grating presence of Jayne Mansfield, who is described in the original 1957 NY Times review of the film as, "grotesque, artificial, noisy, distasteful - and dull." And that pretty much sums it up. In the original play on Broadway, in 1945, these two women characters were evidently blended into one, played "with brilliance" by a young Judy Holliday. Oh, for a woman of her grace, wit and energy in this film version. (As a side note, Judy co-starred in the play with Richard Widmark, who played Crewson.) In the end, though, there is still Cary Grant. He saves the film from being a total waste of time. And Epstein's script has some wonderful gems scattered here and there. Also, the camaraderie between Grant and his two Navy buddies, one of them played by Ray Walston, works well most of the time. For those interested in a 50's drama about Navy fliers, you're better off watching The Bridges at Toko-Ri, with William Holden and Grace Kelly. If you want a great Cary Grant comedy, try his much better effort with Julius Epstein - Arsenic & Old Lace. If you've seen just about everything else with Cary in it, and you want something different, this one will do in a fix.