The Awful Truth

Rating:
Summary: Pretty much perfection
Review: This is one of the most exhilarating comedies ever made.Good judgement informs every frame.Grant is sublime(this is the movie in which Cary Grant first relaxed,began to play and came to relish being "Cary Grant"),Dunne is subtle,sly and witty,Bellamy is far cleverer a performer than he appears and Asta is a veritable Chaplin of the dog world.A suitably stylishly-packaged,lovingly re-mastered DVD version cannot - surely - be far away,but,until it actually arrives,watch this video and see just how joyous Hollywood comedy can be.

Rating:
Summary: "Brilliant fluff" is not a contradiction in terms.
Review: I hesitate to spout cliches about how much better movies used to be back in the good ol' Golden Age. But here's one thing Hollywood has almost forgotten how to do: make frivolous, friendly, feather-weight movies that are nevertheless impeccably written, acted and directed with sophisticated grown-ups in mind. Romantic comedy isn't a genre to which I'm normally attracted, but the classic ones of the late '30s and the '40s are a spectacular exception... and this is one of the best. Cary Grant might have been the coolest man on earth in his era. And Irene Dunne? Oh, if I had a time machine...

Rating:
Summary: Smart, hilarious, and beautifully acted
Review: This movie continues to set the standard for me regarding how smart, funny, and well-acted film can be. The laughs come not from "jokes" but from the situations and the way the characters respond to them. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne prove here that they, along with Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, William Powell, and the great, underappreciated Frederic March, were the true royalty of Screwball Comedy. Thankfully, we'll always have them with us on film. This film, in particular, will always stand as a timeless comedy classic.

Rating:
Summary: Smart, witty, and funny. Some of the best dialog in film.
Review: This movie never fails to make me smile or laugh. The ending is a little too sweet, but the rest is flawless. Great to watch alone or with a viewer as intelligent as yourself. Keep your ears open.

Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest screwball comedies ever.
Review: Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are without parallel in The Awful Truth. I dare anyone not to laugh at Grant barging in on Dunne's voice recital or Dunne barging in on Grant's high society girlfriend's party. Much is still said about Grant's talents, but it's sad that Irene Dunne doesn't get the same universal praise. She cracks me up just with a wave of her hand. In The Awful Truth, she shows why she was a top star in the thirties and forties. She's much funnier (and more talented) than any of the so-called comedic actresses of today.

Rating:
Summary: Major Dissapointment
Review: When I watched The Awful Truth last night for the first time, my expectations were at their highest. I had just brought My Man Godfrey (Carole Lombard is a genius) and Bringing Up, Baby (although Cary Grant is priceless, Katherine Hepburn is hideously miscast). The Awful Truth may have been a sensational hit back in l937 but it bored the heck out of me. Grant was incredible, as usual. Irene Dunne was a revelation. I loved both their personalities. It was the old, worn-out story that made me yawn. Back then, it was probably cool and hot. But, wow, was I glad when it ended and I could watch Bringing Up Baby again, trying to pretend that it wasn't Katherine Hepburn trying to act scatterbrained and idiotic. I kept seeing my favorite B-gal, Glenda Farrell in Katherine's role. Or better still, Carole Lombard. She could do anything.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Hollywood Screwball Comedy
Review: I laughed every single minute of the movie. Irene Dunne and Cary Grant obtain a divorce decree and they fight for the affections of their dog, Asta. They each end up sabotaging the other person's relationship with someone else and eventually they both realize, THE AWFUL TRUTH is, still love each other.

Rating:
Summary: A Screwball Gem
Review: Arguably the greatest of the screwball comedies, The Awful Truth presents Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as soon-to-be-divorced wife and husband who occupy themselves with spoiling each other's prospective new romances. This is my favorite Dunne performance, probably one of Grant's top three comic performances, and the best Leo McCarey picture. This is also the film that first introduced Ralph Bellamy as the other man who always loses out in love (see His Girl Friday for a reprise). The film is chock-full of great comic scenes: my favorites are Grant, Dunne, and Bellamy watching the awful (and risque) performance of Grant's showgirl girlfriend; Grant making Dunne laugh at Bellamy's love poetry; Dunne trying to figure out how to hide another man's hat from Grant; and Dunne's pretense of being Grant's sister (doing the same number the showgirl did earlier). The film ranges from the broad slapstick of Grant becoming entangled in a chair to the subtle expressions of the threesome watching the floor show. What makes the film particularly work are the attractive performances by Grant and Dunne, who engage in skull-duggery to break up each other's love affairs, but who remain likable--partly because underneath the antics, The Awful Truth remains a love story. Even when bickering, Grant and Dunne clearly love each other; they seem to spur each other, make each other more attractive when together. Even Dunne's throw-away line on not having won any dance cups with

Grant has a sweet, nostalgic, longing tone. Grant has a comic sweetness in the final sequence, befuddled as he tries to resist his desire to return to his wife's bed. The film won Best Director for McCarey, who keeps the film on a delightfully fizzy keel and who encouraged his performers to be spontaneous. Dunne inexplicably lost Best Actress to Luise Rainer for The Good Earth; maybe she should have lost it to Garbo for Camille, but not to Rainer. And this is probably the first of the many years in which Grant gave a great comic performance, only to be forgotten when the Oscar nominations were announced. Sure Grant was always identifiable as himself in comedy-after-comedy, but notice the difference between his performance here and the following year's Holiday, and you can better measure his genuine versatility.

Rating:
Summary: Comical look at the way stubborness mixes up marriage
Review: This is a superb classic. It takes a lighthearted look at the way stubbornness and misunderstandings can mix up a marriage. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are headed for divorce. And the dog, Mr. Smith, (aka Asta in the Thin Man movies) is darling. There are many funny incidents as each tries to move on and see others. One of the best movies I've seen all year!!!

Rating:
Summary: A treasure
Review: When the AFI did its "50 Greatest Stars" a few weeks ago and Irene Dunne was NOT among the 25 women...well, there was shouting at our house! The Awful Truth is a perfect example of her wit and graciousness all at the same time. The scene as Grant's "sister" is priceless. The timing and dialog are unmatched by anything today. Treat yourself to ANYTHING with Dunne & Grant...and then see A Guy Named Joe to see her with Spencer Tracy...what a treat!