Supelice Dreadfully Boring

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

hrkepler 'Monkey Business' is typical Howard Hawks' screwball comedy that unfortunately starts to show it's age. When it comes to slapstick comedy then Howard Hawks is one of the finest in that genre, but 'Monkey Business' might not be his greatest anymore, especially compared to 'His Girl Friday' which is maintained it's wit and sharpness besides all the slapstick, and compared to 'Bringing Up Baby' it feels too repetitive. Cary Grant is typically charming and his comedic timing is spot on. Together with Ginger Rogers, whose transitions into teenage girl were just adorable, these two compose a lovely couple whose adventures you follow on the edge of your seat.With other two movies I mentioned 'Monkey Business' offers many chuckles and laugh and guaranteed cure for depression.

classicsoncall I guess there's a fine line between screwball comedy and slapstick. This one came down a bit more on the slapstick side once it got going and left me somewhat unsatisfied, even with the caliber of players in the lead roles. Cary Grant was a veteran of these kinds of pictures, but for a better definition of 'screwball', you'd have to check him out in "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Gal Friday", both from a decade earlier.Something occurred to me as I watched this and I never mentioned it before, but there's always a first time. Have you ever noticed, no matter how big the star or their celebrity appeal, it all seems to go by the boards when they step into a 1950's era kitchen and the appliances make things feel so outdated. That's the first thing that hit me when the Fulton's (Grant and Ginger Rogers) entered their home for the first time. Not that it bothers me because that's just the way things were, but it's something of a shocker when you see it today considering all the modern gadgetry we have available now. Just an observation.Now Marilyn Monroe, it didn't help her real life persona to be cast in a role like this because she had to carry that dumb blonde personality around all throughout her short career. If she had gotten more roles like the her character Roslyn Taber in "The Misfits", well, who knows, her self esteem might have taken her on an entirely different course. As it is, we'll never know.So getting back to the story, we come to find out that at least in this case, the old fountain of youth is not all that it's cracked up to be, especially when monkeyshines are involved. Speaking of which, I wish the chimp who performed here was credited for the role, it had the best facial expressions of any I've ever seen, and that would include Cheeta from all those Tarzan flicks of old. You know, Cheeta lived to the ripe old age of seventy nine, so when Barnaby described 'Rudolph' as being eighty four, the writers wouldn't have been too far off the mark. But then again, they had 'Esther' on screen, so who would ever know?After all the hi-jinx, the story finally comes around to the message we probably all were waiting for, that is, the idea expressed in my summary line delivered by Barnaby Fulton. Another way of expressing it would have been the way Barnaby replied to Miss Laurel (Monroe) when she asked him if his motor was running - "Is yours?"

weezeralfalfa The plot of this farce is very simple: Industrial chemist Barnaby(Cary Grant) has been trying for some years to create a concoction that makes us feel young again. Along comes one of his Chimp "guinea pigs", which escaped from her cage, and mixes a concoction that she pours into the empty water cooler, presumably to see if it does anything interesting to the imbibers. Result: it has dramatic effects on the behavior of imbibers: the more they drink, the farther back in time is their behavior, but only temporarily unless they keep on imbibing. Initially, Cary and Ginger Rogers act like well off college kids. After this wears off, they unknowingly drink a bigger dose and revert to the behavior of 10 year olds. Cary's boss, played by Charles Colburn, is even treated to the claim by Ginger that the toddler she brought with her is actually Cary! This is the second Hollywood film entitled "Monkey Business" that I am aware of. The 1931 Marx Brothers film lacks any monkeys or apes. but includes plenty of "monkey business". Of course, the comedic persona of the brothers was very different from that of Cary or Ginger. Theirs is rooted in vaudeville, emphasizing rapid-fire one liners, insults and physical slapstick, and usually incorporating a number of musical productions here and there(to the irritation of those who believe that music should be kept out of or minimized in comedies). From what I have seen, Cary usually tries to maintain a dignified composure even in the face of comedic adversity. An exception occurs when he is supposed to be acting as a 10 year old. Then, he and Ginger act more like Laurel and Hardy, for example. Typically, the screenplays of both are quite absurd. If that bothers you, better leave them for the kids to watch. In general, I find the humor in Cary comedies to be slow to develop, and inferior in total comedic content to that of various other contemporary comedians, despite the lack of musical interludes. This is true of the present film, although it's funnier than most Cary comedies I've Seen. Marylyn Monroe, in serving as Charles Colburn's non-too-talented secretary, is cast as mostly a buxom "straight man" and Cary's temporary companion, when he was feeling 20ish, for part of a day.In the end, after the remainder of the rejuvenating potion was inadvertently poured down the sink, with the formula unknown, Cary and Ginger conclude that what he has been chasing is too dangerous and not really that helpful, that: "You're old only when you forget you are young". Of course, today, we have an ever expanding stock of cosmetic, as well as, fundamental means of turning the clock back for many people, or reducing the speed of aging, in the first place.Especially recommended for children of a certain age.

Dalbert Pringle Monkey Business was very-Very-VERY bad comedy. This movie was garbage.Both of the aging actors, Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers gave terrible, "phone-in" performances. These 2 were a good part of the reason why this 1952 Comedy fell flat on its face into the muck of movies that are best left unwatched.Aside from the cast member of Esther, a mischievous, little chimp, it was Marilyn Monroe who was the only human actor worth any notice in this picture.Since it has been said that director Howard Hawks saw no talent in Monroe, she was wasted and reduced to playing the nothing-part of a clueless, blond, bimbo secretary who frequently showed off her legs and naively flirted with anyone in pants.This film has Esther, the chimp, (all alone in the lab) escaping from her cage (and imitating what she's seen the professor (Grant) doing), she starts mixing random chemicals together into a large beaker.As it turns out, this monkey's concoction of chemicals has a miraculous rejuvenating effect for which the professor has long been searching.Esther pours this mixture into the lab's water-cooler tank, and, it's at this point that (with everyone completely unaware of what Esther has done) all of the fun is supposed to start when the professor (as well as his wife) drink down the formula.Both Grant and Rogers put in such bad performances as the rejuvenated couple that this film's intended humor fizzled away long before it even got started.I can't believe that I actually wasted away 90 minutes of my time watching this very-Very-VERY bad garbage movie.