DVD REVIEW: "THE JACK LEMMON COLLECTION"
Cinema Retro
By Lee Pfeiffer Another Jack Lemmon DVD collection has been released, this time by Fox and featuring four of the legendary actor's films originally released theatrically by United Artists. Each of the titles in the set have been previously released individually, but it's nice having them all in one convenient slipcase. The films included (three of which are directed by Billy Wilder) are: - Some Like It Hot (1959) - The classic comedy never wears out its welcome even after repeated viewings. Lemmon and Tony Curtis are failed jazz musicians who accidentally witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. They flee to Florida with an all-girl band, a feat they accomplish by dressing in drag. Complications arise when they both fall in love with luscious fellow band member Marilyn Monroe. The film is pretty much a picture-perfect exercise in how to make a great comedy. Lemmon received the lion's share of kudos at the time, but Curtis is every bit as good. His famed Cary Grant imitation, as a method of seducing Monroe, is arguably the highlight of the film. This is not the special edition, and includes only the original trailer.
- The Apartment (1960)- Billy Wilder's Oscar winner for Best Picture retains all of its power and moving narrative. Lemmon is a hot young Wall Street executive who willingly lends his bachelor pad to his bosses for their illicit trysts with mistresses in order to curry favor and pave his way up the corporate ladder. When he falls in love with elevator operator Shirley MacLaine, who happens to be the mistress of his boss Fred MacMurray, he finds his emotional well-being, as well as his career path, compromised. The film is a masterful blend of humor and pathos with Lemmon and MacLaine both superb. This time around, however, revel in MacMurray's masterful performance as the sleazy boss. It's a pity this magnificent actor became primarily linked to sitcoms and Disney films.This is the standard edition with only a trailer included as an extra.
- How to Murder Your Wife (1964)- Like some other Lemmon comedies, this one dares to challenge the popular notion that films in this genre shouldn't get too near the 2 hour mark. With How to Murder Your Wife, director Richard Quine clocks in the running time at 118 minutes...far too long for the one-joke premise. The plot has Lemmon as a popular cartoonist who lives a perfectly content, ultra-regimented, button-down life in a New York townhouse, with his every need attended to by fanatically loyal butler Terry-Thomas. An ill-advised decision to get drunk at a bachelor party results in him waking up next to the gorgeous girl who popped out of the cake (Virna Lisi). Lemmon soon learns he not only married her, but the comely lass doesn't speak a word of English. In short order, Lemmon's treasured lifestyle begins to fall apart, despite the fact that his sex life improves due to his wife's insatiable desires. Before long, his butler quits, he's alienated by his friends and his work is compromised. All of this leads to an over-long and contrived plot device in which Lisi disappears and Lemmon is put on trial for her presumed murder. Although the pace drags a bit, the film is still a good deal of fun with Terry-Thomas stealing the show as a hilarious stereotype of the British gentleman's gentleman. As for Lisi, she exudes the kind of exotic beauty and eroticism virtually missing from the cinema today. The DVD contains the original trailer, which gives away far too much of the plot line.Â
- Avanti! (1972)- This Lemmon/Wilder collaboration was generally ignored upon its initial release, but has grown in stature over the ensuing years. It's a pure delight from start to finish. Lemmon is in full Nervous Nelly mode as an uptight business tycoon who must fly to a small village in Italy to claim the body of his father, an internationally beloved businessman who has died in a car crash. The funeral will be televised a few days hence and Lemmon regards all of this as an unnecessary infringement on his hectic daily schedule. Arriving in Italy, he's horrified to learn that his father died alongside his long-term mistress, whose daughter (Juliet Mills) is there to claim her mother's body. The scenario results in a a series of chaotic mishaps involving missing coffins, missing bodies and the Felix/Oscar-like war of words between super-sophisticated Lemmon and "common" East London girl Mills. You don't need to be an oracle to predict the two will eventually form a relationship that replicates the experience of their parents. The locales are lush (it's the only film Wilder shot entirely in Italy with a mostly Italian cast), the script offers a plethora of great one-liners and the supporting actors are all terrific (including wonderful turns by Clive Revill and the always-watchable Edward Andrews.)One disturbing aspect of the movie is the sexist nature of the script which constantly finds everyone berating Mills for being "fat", despite the fact she says she weighs 133 pounds and looks ravishing in her famous nude swimming scene. Not surprisingly, no such remarks are made toward Lemmon's character. Still, the film is a gem from start to finish- despite the epic-like running time of 140 minutes. The original trailer is included.
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