2 thoughts on “Daily Dialogue – May 18, 2008”

1. Hi, Scott!

   Wow! You DID it!

   In the midst of pondering the futures of Mlles. Paltrow and Diaz in the evolving world of rom-coms (thanks for the articles), I relished the visit to The Apartment.

   To kick off a discussion, would you say The Apartment was the first “substantial” romantic comedy? That is, a film that actually explores a cultural phenomenon — in this case, the sexual revolution of the 1960s — while delivering wonderful, fast-paced rom-com repartee and screwball zaniness as bonuses? A romp to help the medicine go down, so to speak. Like, I would suggest, Jerry Maguire did more recently?

   To my mind, Billy WIlder etal in this fabulous movie provided a sobering look at the downside of The Pill. A message without preaching.

   All of a sudden in 1959-60, after eons, Good Girls “could,” and the expectation sometimes became Good Girls “should.” All was fun and games (it was a pre-most-STDs era, after all) until someone got hurt. Bud Baxter happily lends his apartment to philandering company execs in return for getting ahead at work until his beloved, pedastalled Miss Kubelik becomes one of the girls — a girl so conflicted and broken that she attempts suicide in his bed.

   And that shock, plus his discovery of a deepening and personalized love, gives Bud character, backbone and a new goal that drives the film to its conclusion.

   Q. Do other rom-coms of this bent come to your mind?

   Thanks for a great place to hang out!

   Judy

2. Welcome, Judy. And straight off, you raise a great set of questions. I was going to dash off something here, but there’s a lot to discuss, so I think I’ll address it in a post in the next couple days. Actually, I’m pleased at the idea of pondering The Apartment as it is one of my top five favorite movies. So thanks for your observations!