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Monkey Business

Monkey Business

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sweet Romp
Review: "Monkey Business" looks pretty good on DVD 50 years later. The restoration comparison on the DVD shows the change the restoration brought, a bit darkly tinted, and more defined. The wild plot keeps you glued to the screen throughout. Marilyn Monroe who is the star on the DVD box has more of a supporting role here. She is great as the secretary Lois Laurel who shows up early because the boss doesn't like her punctuation. Cary Grant as the addled Professor Barnaby Fulton turns in a great journeyman performance, getting appropriately loony when experiencing the euphoria of youth. His driving sequence with Monroe had me turning in my chair with laughter to avoid the trucks! Ginger Rogers as wife Edwina gets pretty wacky when returned to youth. If all youth were as lighthearted as these comedic versions, it'd be a laugh and guffaw every time the school bell rings. Hugh Marlowe as the straight-laced attorney Hank Entwhistle does a nice job of standing stoic during the crazy Indian game. Oscar winner Charles Coburn (1943, The More the Merrier) does a great job of appreciating Monroe's assets as Oliver Oxly, the CEO. Kathleen Freeman as Mrs. Brannigan gives a fine performance. The DVD offers perviews of many Monroe films. This is a great little piece of cinematic history. Turn back the clock & enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Mr. Oxley's been complaining about my puncuation
Review: "so i'm careful to get here before nine"...MM has this classic and very funny line in this movie. It's the line that I always remember. That and "Find someone to type this", Charles Coburn says to MM, his secretary.
This is a great comedy from the 1950's that stars Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn is in a supporting role as the secretary to Charles Coburn, but she truly shows her side as a comedic actress in this. I have always been a great fan of Cary Grant, and he is just hilarious as the absent minded doctor who is trying to concoct a youth serum. Little does he know, all it takes is a monkee..this is a fun movie. and it shows the comedic talents of grant, rogers, and monroe..

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The formula for immaturity is more like it
Review: "We dream of youth. We remember it as a time of nightingales and valentines, and what are the facts? Maladjustment, mere idiocy, and a series of low comedy disasters, that's what youth is. I don't see how anyone survives."

So says Dr. Barnaby Fulton to his loving wife Edwina. In fact the search for a youth formula is the commission he is working on at Oxley Chemicals, with the help of his assistant Jerome Keating. So far, he's gotten a 23% efficiency rating out of the formula, until in a serendipitous moment, he hits upon heat as the answer to make it 100% efficient.

Now, we've all heard of the story of many monkeys typing up gibberish until only one of them comes up with Hamlet. Well, in yet another totally bizarre and random moment, Esther, one of the experimental chimpanzees in Fulton's lab, unwittingly creates a formula that's more effective than Fulton's. And the cruel joke is that the chimp dumps her formula into the water cooler. Meanwhile, first Barnaby, then Edwina, take Esther's formula, thinking it's Barnaby's, and they regress back in age, both to college age. Yes, they seem livelier, whooping it up, and acting youthful. But their outrageous behaviour causes consternation among their bewildered colleagues, particularly Mr. Oxley, who's simultaneously pleased and concerned that the formula's working. And guess how the Fultons act when they unwittingly take a larger dose of the formula?

Some of the things are very dated, such as the sports coat and haircut that's reminiscent of college boys in the late 1920's. The open top sports car is a beaut, though.

As for Marilyn, who plays Oxley's secretary, Lois Laurel, she doesn't have much to do, but the one feature that's emphasized are her legs. She raises her skirt to Fulton to show how well the non-rip stockings are working, and when she's sent to find Fulton at the Ford dealer, from beneath a billboard, we see a pair of legs walking. When Barnaby calls out her name, the legs stop in reaction. Interesting technique there. And Edwina says of Laurel, who's described as "half infant" by Barnaby, "not the half that's visible." And yes, her typing is so bad, her boss hands her a paper and says "Find someone to type this."

Cary Grant comes off well as Barnaby, playing the myopic absent-minded professor to a tee. When Ginger Rogers (Edwina) lets her hair down, shades of what made her glow during her Fred Astaire days come through, but it's clear that she hasn't aged that well with time.

The voice telling Cary Grant, "Not yet, Cary" at the beginning is none other than director Howard Hawks, who'd direct Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in which Charles Coburn (Oxley) also appears as Sir Henry Beatman. And the young boy in the cowboy hat with the low speaking voice is George "Foghorn" Winston, who has a small role as Henry Spofford III in Blondes.

An average light comedy that's good as a time-killer, enjoyable if it's not taken too seriously. But in going back to that opening quote, it amazes me that no matter how adult adults seem to be, the maladjustment and mere idiocy is something that even most of us adults never grow out of. If that's what makes us young at heart, that's just human nature. I suppose that means that if we're as young as we feel, that it's all in the mind, well, that's what matters in the end. Youth is one thing, immaturity is quite another.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Monkey your own business!
Review: "Monkey Business" is what I call a HILARIOUS movie! Barnaby (Cary Grant) is a chemist who is working on a new formula that has the potential to be a scientific breakthrough if it works. But he can't seem to find the missing ingredient that would make it all work and produce a change of direction in the way he lives.

A monkey accidentally mixes various ingredients together in a laboratory, creating a formula that literally makes the drinkers (of the formula) feel and act much younger than they actually are. The lucky or not so lucky drinkers can feel and experience such effects as having their vision restored to 20/20, being angry, and so on. But what all the drinkers experience is a feeling of having energy that refuses to run out for awhile and they temporarily act like a kid, maybe even younger.

After so long, the formula wears off and the drinkers return to their old and boring selves (when compared to way they were while under the influence of the formula), at least until they drink some more of it.

"Monkey Business" also provides a few subplots such as a group of people wanting to get their hands on Barnaby's formula. These subplots don't do anything but make the already great movie even better.

"Monkey Business" has many standout comedy sequences that all go full blast on the laughs. A few of the most memorable parts are when Cary Grant takes Marilyn Monroe on a FAST and unpredictable joyride through town in a sleek new car, when Cary Grant and his wife (Ginger Rogers) fight with paint, Cary Grant playing as "Red Eagle," the star of some kind of Indian game with the children, and so many more.

The main reason "Monkey Business" is so funny is because you woudln't really expect to see most of the things you'll see once the formula kicks in. For example, would you expect to see Cary Grant do cartwheels or a MAJOR belly buster off the high dive? Everybody in "Monkey Business" does a spectacular job of acting, especially Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn Monroe is also a standout even though she's not really one of the main characters in the film.

To make it short, "Monkey Business" is a comedy movie that will make people of all ages laugh out loud. Me (I'm 21), my younger brother and sister, our mom (40's), and our great-grandmother (she's in her 80's), all sat down one day and watched this movie. Though there is a wide gap in our ages, we all laughed over and over again. If you or anyone you know likes comedy movies, get "Monkey Business" as soon as possible!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Monkey your own business!
Review: "Monkey Business" is what I call a HILARIOUS movie! Barnaby (Cary Grant) is a chemist who is working on a new formula that has the potential to be a scientific breakthrough if it works. But he can't seem to find the missing ingredient that would make it all work and produce a change of direction in the way he lives.

A monkey accidentally mixes various ingredients together in a laboratory, creating a formula that literally makes the drinkers (of the formula) feel and act much younger than they actually are. The lucky or not so lucky drinkers can feel and experience such effects as having their vision restored to 20/20, being angry, and so on. But what all the drinkers experience is a feeling of having energy that refuses to run out for awhile and they temporarily act like a kid, maybe even younger.

After so long, the formula wears off and the drinkers return to their old and boring selves (when compared to way they were while under the influence of the formula), at least until they drink some more of it.

"Monkey Business" also provides a few subplots such as a group of people wanting to get their hands on Barnaby's formula. These subplots don't do anything but make the already great movie even better.

"Monkey Business" has many standout comedy sequences that all go full blast on the laughs. A few of the most memorable parts are when Cary Grant takes Marilyn Monroe on a FAST and unpredictable joyride through town in a sleek new car, when Cary Grant and his wife (Ginger Rogers) fight with paint, Cary Grant playing as "Red Eagle," the star of some kind of Indian game with the children, and so many more.

The main reason "Monkey Business" is so funny is because you woudln't really expect to see most of the things you'll see once the formula kicks in. For example, would you expect to see Cary Grant do cartwheels or a MAJOR belly buster off the high dive? Everybody in "Monkey Business" does a spectacular job of acting, especially Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn Monroe is also a standout even though she's not really one of the main characters in the film.

To make it short, "Monkey Business" is a comedy movie that will make people of all ages laugh out loud. Me (I'm 21), my younger brother and sister, our mom (40's), and our great-grandmother (she's in her 80's), all sat down one day and watched this movie. Though there is a wide gap in our ages, we all laughed over and over again. If you or anyone you know likes comedy movies, get "Monkey Business" as soon as possible!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sweet Romp
Review: "Monkey Business" looks pretty good on DVD 50 years later. The restoration comparison on the DVD shows the change the restoration brought, a bit darkly tinted, and more defined. The wild plot keeps you glued to the screen throughout. Marilyn Monroe who is the star on the DVD box has more of a supporting role here. She is great as the secretary Lois Laurel who shows up early because the boss doesn't like her punctuation. Cary Grant as the addled Professor Barnaby Fulton turns in a great journeyman performance, getting appropriately loony when experiencing the euphoria of youth. His driving sequence with Monroe had me turning in my chair with laughter to avoid the trucks! Ginger Rogers as wife Edwina gets pretty wacky when returned to youth. If all youth were as lighthearted as these comedic versions, it'd be a laugh and guffaw every time the school bell rings. Hugh Marlowe as the straight-laced attorney Hank Entwhistle does a nice job of standing stoic during the crazy Indian game. Oscar winner Charles Coburn (1943, The More the Merrier) does a great job of appreciating Monroe's assets as Oliver Oxly, the CEO. Kathleen Freeman as Mrs. Brannigan gives a fine performance. The DVD offers perviews of many Monroe films. This is a great little piece of cinematic history. Turn back the clock & enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sweet Romp
Review: "Monkey Business" looks pretty good on DVD 50 years later. The restoration comparison on the DVD shows the change the restoration brought, a bit darkly tinted, and more defined. The wild plot keeps you glued to the screen throughout. Marilyn Monroe who is the star on the DVD box has more of a supporting role here. She is great as the secretary Lois Laurel who shows up early because the boss doesn't like her punctuation. Cary Grant as the addled Professor Barnaby Fulton turns in a great journeyman performance, getting appropriately loony when experiencing the euphoria of youth. His driving sequence with Monroe had me turning in my chair with laughter to avoid the trucks! Ginger Rogers as wife Edwina gets pretty wacky when returned to youth. If all youth were as lighthearted as these comedic versions, it'd be a laugh and guffaw every time the school bell rings. Hugh Marlowe as the straight-laced attorney Hank Entwhistle does a nice job of standing stoic during the crazy Indian game. Oscar winner Charles Coburn (1943, The More the Merrier) does a great job of appreciating Monroe's assets as Oliver Oxly, the CEO. Kathleen Freeman as Mrs. Brannigan gives a fine performance. The DVD offers perviews of many Monroe films. This is a great little piece of cinematic history. Turn back the clock & enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Mr. Oxley's been complaining about my puncuation
Review: "so i'm careful to get here before nine"...MM has this classic and very funny line in this movie. It's the line that I always remember. That and "Find someone to type this", Charles Coburn says to MM, his secretary.
This is a great comedy from the 1950's that stars Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn is in a supporting role as the secretary to Charles Coburn, but she truly shows her side as a comedic actress in this. I have always been a great fan of Cary Grant, and he is just hilarious as the absent minded doctor who is trying to concoct a youth serum. Little does he know, all it takes is a monkee..this is a fun movie. and it shows the comedic talents of grant, rogers, and monroe..

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The formula for immaturity is more like it
Review: "We dream of youth. We remember it as a time of nightingales and valentines, and what are the facts? Maladjustment, mere idiocy, and a series of low comedy disasters, that's what youth is. I don't see how anyone survives."

So says Dr. Barnaby Fulton to his loving wife Edwina. In fact the search for a youth formula is the commission he is working on at Oxley Chemicals, with the help of his assistant Jerome Keating. So far, he's gotten a 23% efficiency rating out of the formula, until in a serendipitous moment, he hits upon heat as the answer to make it 100% efficient.

Now, we've all heard of the story of many monkeys typing up gibberish until only one of them comes up with Hamlet. Well, in yet another totally bizarre and random moment, Esther, one of the experimental chimpanzees in Fulton's lab, unwittingly creates a formula that's more effective than Fulton's. And the cruel joke is that the chimp dumps her formula into the water cooler. Meanwhile, first Barnaby, then Edwina, take Esther's formula, thinking it's Barnaby's, and they regress back in age, both to college age. Yes, they seem livelier, whooping it up, and acting youthful. But their outrageous behaviour causes consternation among their bewildered colleagues, particularly Mr. Oxley, who's simultaneously pleased and concerned that the formula's working. And guess how the Fultons act when they unwittingly take a larger dose of the formula?

Some of the things are very dated, such as the sports coat and haircut that's reminiscent of college boys in the late 1920's. The open top sports car is a beaut, though.

As for Marilyn, who plays Oxley's secretary, Lois Laurel, she doesn't have much to do, but the one feature that's emphasized are her legs. She raises her skirt to Fulton to show how well the non-rip stockings are working, and when she's sent to find Fulton at the Ford dealer, from beneath a billboard, we see a pair of legs walking. When Barnaby calls out her name, the legs stop in reaction. Interesting technique there. And Edwina says of Laurel, who's described as "half infant" by Barnaby, "not the half that's visible." And yes, her typing is so bad, her boss hands her a paper and says "Find someone to type this."

Cary Grant comes off well as Barnaby, playing the myopic absent-minded professor to a tee. When Ginger Rogers (Edwina) lets her hair down, shades of what made her glow during her Fred Astaire days come through, but it's clear that she hasn't aged that well with time.

The voice telling Cary Grant, "Not yet, Cary" at the beginning is none other than director Howard Hawks, who'd direct Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in which Charles Coburn (Oxley) also appears as Sir Henry Beatman. And the young boy in the cowboy hat with the low speaking voice is George "Foghorn" Winston, who has a small role as Henry Spofford III in Blondes.

An average light comedy that's good as a time-killer, enjoyable if it's not taken too seriously. But in going back to that opening quote, it amazes me that no matter how adult adults seem to be, the maladjustment and mere idiocy is something that even most of us adults never grow out of. If that's what makes us young at heart, that's just human nature. I suppose that means that if we're as young as we feel, that it's all in the mind, well, that's what matters in the end. Youth is one thing, immaturity is quite another.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The formula for immaturity is more like it
Review: "We dream of youth. We remember it as a time of nightingales and valentines, and what are the facts? Maladjustment, mere idiocy, and a series of low comedy disasters, that's what youth is. I don't see how anyone survives."

So says Dr. Barnaby Fulton to his loving wife Edwina. In fact the search for a youth formula is the commission he is working on at Oxley Chemicals, with the help of his assistant Jerome Keating. So far, he's gotten a 23% efficiency rating out of the formula, until in a serendipitous moment, he hits upon heat as the answer to make it 100% efficient.

Now, we've all heard of the story of many monkeys typing up gibberish until only one of them comes up with Hamlet. Well, in yet another totally bizarre and random moment, Esther, one of the experimental chimpanzees in Fulton's lab, unwittingly creates a formula that's more effective than Fulton's. And the cruel joke is that the chimp dumps her formula into the water cooler. Meanwhile, first Barnaby, then Edwina, take Esther's formula, thinking it's Barnaby's, and they regress back in age, both to college age. Yes, they seem livelier, whooping it up, and acting youthful. But their outrageous behaviour causes consternation among their bewildered colleagues, particularly Mr. Oxley, who's simultaneously pleased and concerned that the formula's working. And guess how the Fultons act when they unwittingly take a larger dose of the formula?

Some of the things are very dated, such as the sports coat and haircut that's reminiscent of college boys in the late 1920's. The open top sports car is a beaut, though.

As for Marilyn, who plays Oxley's secretary, Lois Laurel, she doesn't have much to do, but the one feature that's emphasized are her legs. She raises her skirt to Fulton to show how well the non-rip stockings are working, and when she's sent to find Fulton at the Ford dealer, from beneath a billboard, we see a pair of legs walking. When Barnaby calls out her name, the legs stop in reaction. Interesting technique there. And Edwina says of Laurel, who's described as "half infant" by Barnaby, "not the half that's visible." And yes, her typing is so bad, her boss hands her a paper and says "Find someone to type this."

Cary Grant comes off well as Barnaby, playing the myopic absent-minded professor to a tee. When Ginger Rogers (Edwina) lets her hair down, shades of what made her glow during her Fred Astaire days come through, but it's clear that she hasn't aged that well with time.

The voice telling Cary Grant, "Not yet, Cary" at the beginning is none other than director Howard Hawks, who'd direct Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in which Charles Coburn (Oxley) also appears as Sir Henry Beatman. And the young boy in the cowboy hat with the low speaking voice is George "Foghorn" Winston, who has a small role as Henry Spofford III in Blondes.

An average light comedy that's good as a time-killer, enjoyable if it's not taken too seriously. But in going back to that opening quote, it amazes me that no matter how adult adults seem to be, the maladjustment and mere idiocy is something that even most of us adults never grow out of. If that's what makes us young at heart, that's just human nature. I suppose that means that if we're as young as we feel, that it's all in the mind, well, that's what matters in the end. Youth is one thing, immaturity is quite another.


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