Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Transfer
Review: Really poor prints of this film have been floating around for years on video (due to its public domain status), and the virtually perfect picture here is a revelation (the sound not quite as good). Coupled with a nice commentary track and radio shows as extras, this is a very compelling purchase.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best of the screwball comedies
Review: My Man Godfrey is one of my favorite movies ever. It is the story of a dizzy heiress who, when on a scavenger hunt, has to find a forgotten man. She goes to a dump(pretty symbolic), where dispossed men have set up a hooverville. There she finds Godfrey. After the hunt, he becomes the family butler. During a series of crazy events a romance developes. I would hate to give away the plot to anyone who hasn't seen it, so I'll describe the characters. The social climbing mother with her protegee's is hysterical, the vicious sister is perfectly evil, and the business minded father is totally bewildered by his family. A great great film.
Rating:
Summary: Great classic film!
Review: I highly recommend this film. It's one of the best.
It's a great romantic comedy! I'd give it ten stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: The power of Powell!
Review: One of my favorite genre of film is the Screwball comedy. During these films are rules are broken! Women have a leverage over men, hitting is allowed, wit and charm seem the norm and the prat falls are welcomed. My Man Godfrey has all of these elements in tact and does it better than 99% of its peers. The plot is simple a "forgotten man" played by William Powell is used as a winning token in a scavenger hunt/party. The not to bright sociallite played to perfection by Carole Lombard and her ever funny and off center family decide to take him on as butler. But all does not go down smoothly when Powell is given a job. Due to the consequences of an earlier incident he finds himself being trapped, charged with a crime, and even sexually harrassed. The script is as tight as spandex on a wrestler and the direction by La Cava is never intrusive or frenetic. But the true star of this film is POWELL'S EYES! GOOD GOD! They have to be seen to be believed! It gives his performance and overall physical nature a somewhat imposing aura! The way they search over Lombard in key scenes is just amazing! They seem to linger and peer through the other actors and force a kind of heightened urgency between dialogue and facial expression. Lombard and Alice Brady as the gut bustingly funny but dim witted mother are a hoot! But the star is Powell, he does wonder with the dialogue - as does the rest of the cast but after the credits close you will still find yourself laughing through the scences and speak easy dialogue of one of the greatest screwball comedies of all time!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT SCREWBALL COMEDY
Review: A terrific movie which exposed the mindless artificiality of some thirties Fifth Avenue socialites with sparkling verve and wit. A whimsical tale of a well-born down-and-out who's engaged as the butler for a family of wealthy loonies (whom he saves later from financial ruin). As in most such escapades, this wacky social farce relies on the comic expertise of its cast. In the title role, William Powell is completely at home with Godfrey Smith's wry humour and unflappable reactions to the unpredictable chaos all around him. Carole Lombard, as a heroine less vivid than in 1934's TWENTIETH CENTURY or 1937's NOTHING SACRED is as zany as she is beautiful, however icey, cynical Gail Patrick frequently manages to steal the scenes they share and ultimately leaves the more indelible impression. As the flibbertigibbet mother, Alice Brady portrays a fluttering, falsetto-voiced scatterbrain with amusingly innane dialogue: "If you're going to be rude to my daughter, you might as well at least take your hat off"! Basement-voiced Eugene Pallette, as the Bullocks' failing breadwinner, is, as always in fine form. Mischa Auer's ape-mimicking Brady protege almost makes the nuttiest of the clan look sane! Jean Dixon, the gal who plays Molly, the all-wise household maid delivers her lines with exquisite comic timing; she should have had more to do in films. The fun lies in the development of character as the Bullock clan's fortunes change for the worse and they learn a few lessons in humanity. The wit derives form a well-crafted screenplay by Morrie Ryskind, Eric Hatch and Gregory La Cava, and the verve is easily attributable to the inspired guidance of comedy expert La Cava, a director known for his penchant for improvisation.
Rating:
Summary: This is the one!
Review: This is THE edition of this classic, quintessential screwball comedy, no question about it. Previously it's only been available in duped, "public domain" prints that are washed out, hard to see and with muffled sound quality-but the movie is so charming, funny and delightful that it was still worth sitting through, even in that sorry condition. No more! This new Criterion edition is just unbelievably sharp, and the sound is fantastic. As for the film itself- Carole Lombard was never better(and I'm a big Lombard fan), and the rest of the cast follows suit. Direction, lighting, writing, design-all of its virtues highlight the studio system at their peak. As a bonus, this edition includes some choice outtakes which prove Lombard's reputation as handy with profanity(although even swearing, she's funny). This is a great investment-you'll pull it out to watch when you get "that foolish feeling", to quote William Powell(Godfrey). Buy it and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Screwball at its best!
Review: I was hesitant to buy this unseen due to the cost. I'm now quite glad I did! This is a thoroughly enjoyable classic, and Criterion, like usual, presents it with the clearest, cleanest print available. Definitely worth the investment!
Rating:
Summary: Thank You Criterion!
Review: At last, a good clean copy of this wonderful screwball romantic comedy! Much superior to the Hollywood Classics DVD which was washed-out and missing a key scene.Well, this is just one of the best of the half-dozen or so top screwball comedies of the 30's. A dream cast plays it light and loose, with the real world of Depression-era America as a backdrop to a love story and a light lesson in responsibility, both to one's friends & family, to one's society, and to one's better nature. And what a cast. William Powell is the epitome of debonair (what a quaint term: NO ONE is debonair anymore, alas)with one of the best comedic touches and timing in the business. Opposite Powell is Carole Lombard, young, adorable, beautiful and screwy and a perfect foil for Powell's smooth decorum. The supporting cast is first rate: Eugene Pallete the long-suffering businessman/husband; Gail Patrick, the beautiful but bitchy Cornelia; Mischa Auer's deadbeat Carlo; Alice Brady's clueless mother; Jean Dixon's wisecracking maid & Alan Mowbry as the rich & useless but decent Tommy Gray. Enjoy comedy played by pros to a fare-thee-well. It's all attitude and delivery and body english and it is great! They can't make them like this anymore. Style and class. The extras are quite good with a nice commentary track by Bob Gilpin and some hysterical outtakes (yes, they cussed back then too!). The print is pretty much clean and a vast improvement over previous editions.
Rating:
Summary: A great movie, well presented
Review: The Criterion Collection DVD of this, one of the greatest comedies of all time (and one of my ten favorite movies), is a long-awaited and vast improvement over the previously available DVD version of the film. The sound is far clearer, and the picture is crisp and sharp. It is nice to be able to enjoy the movie without having to forgive hisses, pops, and picture skips. DVD extras in the Criterion edition are fairly extensive -- a radio version of the show, a short but good-natured blooper reel, the theatrical trailer (which was not restored to the pristine picture and sound of the movie), and an unintentionally amusing commentary in which a film scholar laboriously explains every joke as though his mission was to drive a stake through the heart of the movie. The movie is more than good enough to survive its mind-cudgeling analysis, but the commentary is eminently skippable. No matter, though. The extras are not the reason to buy the Criterion edition of My Man Godfrey anyway -- it is the stellar quality of the movie itself, finally presented the way it ought to be seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Appalling slapstick sans comedy
Review: God save us from the dysfunctional and unfunny group in this outdated film. Not even the normally watchable William Powell can revive this old wheeze. And the whinging, whimpering and wailing of Carole Lombard is enough to make one homicidally inclined long before the flick is over.
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