Let's Make Love (1960)

A curious picture in many ways: Marilyn Monroe was the superstar, Yves Montand new to Hollywood, but she seems peripheral to the action and he's in almost every scene. Meanwhile, director George Cukor, always happy with theatrical material, can't make the off-off-Broadway milieu come to believable life. In short, Let's Make Love lacks the sparkle promised by its talent roster, and for Monroe especially the bloom is off the rose. This 1960 film was her next to last, and she appears weary, although isolated moments have the old oomph (and she has a terrific romp through her first number, Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"). Cameos by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly increase the time-capsule feeling. The biggest failing is the lack of chemistry between Monroe and Montand, yet offscreen they had a romance during filming. A curious picture indeed. --Robert Horton Amazon.com

Daring performance and uncomfortable insinuations

Monroe and Montand seem an unlikely coupling. But they pull it off and suck you in.

In the scene where Monroe sings "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", Marilyn slides down a stripper pole 40 years before it was fashionable... and starts out.... "Boys! My name is Lolita, and ah... I'm not supposed to play... with boys!" ".... My heart belongs to Daddy so I simply couldn't be bad." ".. cuz Daddy, my Daddy. My little old Daddy, he treats it so.... That little old man he just treats it SO GOOOOOOOOD!"

The last line is delivered in such a way that one blushes at what is really being said and wondering who that little old man really is! Erotic and distrubing all at once, especially in light of Marilyn's real life fixation on her absentee father and the molestation she was subjected to. The eroticism in this scene cannot be rivaled by any modern day film. The song itself has such taboo insinuations it's a bit shocking even by today's standards.

I think we can credit Ms. Monroe with currently overused phrase, "Who's Your Daddy?!"

SHE's YOUR Daddy! ;o)

There are very nice cameo appearances by Bing Crosby, Milton Berle, & Gene Kelly playing themselves... Frankie Vaughan is dreamy. Montand seems out of place but does a good job with what he has to work with.

See the film just to enjoy the cameos, or to watch Monroe perform a piece ahead of it's time in content. "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is just plain bizarre...see Marilyn "scatting" ! August 28, 2008

Let's - Why Not?

I stumbled across the DVD for "Let's Make Love" in one of those midnight rambles over the web - the ones where I start off searching "How High the Moon", clink links until, suddenly, I've got happy snaps of the New York Roxy and CinemaScope and end up, well, with Marilyn. "Let's Make Love" is not available here (Australia) for love or ready cash, and hasn't been, and perhaps won't be for a long time.

I've got the oldest copy in the world on VHS and yes, it's not one of her best; and yes, she's put on a bit of weight; and yes, George Cukor's flabby direction, the rotten script, the woeful editing don't make anybody look good. The sleazy charms of M. Montand and the almost talent-free Frankie Vaughan's immense self-satisfaction... but the main reason I've ordered it with great glee not ten minutes ago is to see Marilyn - especially to see her originate pole-dancing with "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". And that, for me, is reason enough. Mary Martin must have been (as we say down here) SPEWING.

She's amazing. It doesn't matter whether you're a fan or not - if she's on the screen you're not looking at anybody else, and that's star quality.

Interesting that another reviewer of this film mentioned "The Prince and the Showgirl" with something south of pleasure. If you ever puzzle about the difference between Acting and acting, this is a great spot to start. Watch the Brits, especially the atrrrrociously mannerrrred Larrrry Olivier, sink slowly in the west, and then compare his silly posturing to the effortless ease of Monroe's style. "Won't you come down, my dear? You're the only one of us who knows how to do it."

Let's not mention "There's No Business Like Show Business"...

Next: "Niagara". Delirious!

July 31, 2008

Monroe's best acting job along with "Bus Stop."

The fantastic musical numbers alone make this movie worth watching at least a hundred times and Monroe's being in them is 90% of the reason why. Frankie Vaughn is great in all his musical numbers with Marilyn and Montand did an amazing job in his first English role, shifting smoothly between scenes with a more serious tone and ridiculous comic scenes. And 'Lack of Chemistry' between Montand and Monroe? Not so. You can very much feel the connection between them but it's a deeper chemistry born out of a true appreciation of each other's artistry rather than the common surface chemistry. This deeper transcending connection of the real people acting the parts is there for all who can pay close attention veiled behind what the parts themselves call for which is 'lack of chemstry' between them and Montand's silly attempts to impress her and create a connection. We slowly watch the surface-movie-parts chemistry and the sexual tension develop while the movie gets most of its laughs from making Montand look ridiculous--at the same time the deeper underlying chemistry being always at work whenever they share the screen.

Monroe was in more or as many scenes here as in "Some Like It Hot" and "Seven Year Itch." Whether Monroe initially hated the part she was given to do by Fox under contract--or not, is a moot point since it does not show through one bit in the role. She rises above any misgivings to deliver maybe her best performance after "Bus Stop," her most fully realistic, reality based comic role, a further demonstration of the remarkable acting talent that was struggling to be recognized amidst all the sex-symbol hoopla. In all the non-musical scenes, she refuses to play the dumb blonde caricature and instead plays a real woman, close to what she was like in real life, one whose intelligence and wit shows through and all the comic nuances she adds are firmly rooted in and arise from that base and not some two-dimensional cliche. She's been through a lot by this point and has acquired quite a bit of 'soul' and taps into it regularly without over-playing that angle and overpowering the light comic tone of the film.

The writing has plenty of wit to spare for every scene and the directing is expert and very detailed. One of the best scenes in the movie doesn't even involve any of the principal leads and features a hilarious attempt by the nearly bankrupt theatre manager to bluff his way into a better bargaining position against Montand's secret representative who is ready to pay his debts for a share of the business. I also love how they absurdly stretch the ending out with Montand saying repeatedly that he's Clement and Monroe refusing to believe it even all the way up to his office and in front of his secretaries because she thinks that his obsessive dedication to acting the part of Clement has driven him so much into the character that he's stuck in it and can't escape! Just the fact that they even conceived of and wrote a scene like that and Cukor got Montand and Monroe to subtly act it to perfection makes this movie unique and special among the comedy/musicals.

The DVD transfer is excellent but there are no special features other than a couple of trailers. April 23, 2008

lukewarm--as far as it goes, that is... (three and one-half stars)

Let's Make Love is, sadly, not one of Marilyn Monroe's better films. I feel bad about it because apparently this film was essentially a contractual obligation and Yves Montand doesn't even look right for her onscreen--I find it hard to picture the off-screen... oh, oh, well.

Anyway, the action begins when the French billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) finds out his life and playboy scandals are being publicly spoofed in an off-Broadway play. Upset about the possibility of negative press, Jean-Marc hurries down to the theater with his main PR man Alexander Coffman (Tony Randall). Naturally, he does find out he IS being made fun of--but his worries are sidetracked when he lays his eyes on Amanda Dell (Monroe), the female lead in the show.

Jean-Marc and his associates set things up so that he can masquerade as an actor to be closer to Amanda; and as time goes by Jean-Marc forgets about his reputation being slandered. He only wants Amanda for his wife. Of course, the fact that Amanda is involved with another actor named Tony (Frankie Vaughan) doesn't help much.

Look for some wonderful songs by Frankie Vaughan; and Marilyn at least scores one big one with her song and dance classic number, "My Heart Belongs To Daddy." It's not that she looks tired in this film; it's that she's grossly underused. That surprises me because George Cukor, the director, was particularly well known for bringing out the best acting from his leading ladies during production.

After several silly plot twists, Jean-Marc realizes he's got to hire some professionals to help him get Amanda's attention. We therefore get some wonderful cameos by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly. They do a wonderful job although Milton Berle wasn't as funny as I hoped he would be.

Of course, from here the plot can go anywhere. Will Jean-Marc ever disclose his true identity to Amanda--and how will she react when she knows he's been a faker all this time? How will Tony handle it if Amanda leaves him for Jean-Marc? Watch the movie and find out--I don't give plot spoilers!

The DVD has a couple of interesting but very brief comparisons between what the film looked like pre-restoration and after restoration; but that's about it. Sigh.

Overall, Let's Make Love is a tepid motion picture to be saved for when there's nothing good on television and you want to see a Marilyn Monroe movie. The acting is only fair; in fact Montand looks more weathered than Marilyn! It's a good movie; but nothing that you should go too far out of your way to see. Sorry, guys.
April 6, 2008

Not Monroe's best but still entertaining

As has been mentioned, Marilyn was forced to do this movie because of her contract. Both she and Arthur Miller were disappointed with the quality of script. Miller offered suggestions, but to no avail.

None the less, Marilyn does a great job, giving the movie as much effort as she did for the ones she actually wanted to make. Despite a lagging script and Yves Montand near-indecipherable English, the movie does have a few redeeming values. The Milton Berle scene is hilarious and Marilyn shines in her song and dance numbers. Considered risqué for 1960, the film features lines such as, "My name's Lolita....and...I'm not supposed to play....with boys!" As usual Marilyn Monroe shines.
April 18, 2007

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