This blog is supposed to be about banter, and here I’ve sidetracked it with talk of Spider-Man’s marital woes. So here we go back on track with two short reviews of two short screwball comedies. I’ll go into detail about what makes them screwball comedies rather than standard rom-coms later, but here’s a quick summary: screwballs involve class commentary, wise-cracking fast-talking heroes/heroines, an equally screwy cast of side characters, and a happy ending. Midnight and Easy Living are written by two of the greats, Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges, and are reworked fairy tales.

Midnight (1939) stars Claudette Colbert as a penniless showgirl who wanders around Paris in a gold lame’ gown. She connects with charming taxi driver Don Ameche but runs off to crash a fancy soiree’–only to run into drunken nobleman John Barrymore. Barrymore backs up Ms. Colbert’s bid to pass herself off as a Countess in exchange for her wooing a rich guy away from Barrymore’s wife. And then the taxi driver shows up, determined to find the girl he loves. The movie has a bit of a slow start, but once everyone shows up at Barrymore’s place in Versailles the situation gets increasingly complicated. This movie is also one of the few to have the heroine explain *why* she wants to choose money over love (hint: her poor parents? Not happy.) Elegant and effortless, this one coasts more on a Continental charm than whip-smart bon mots–though the situation twists at the end are great. Recommended.

Easy Living (1937) stars Jean Arthur as a magazine writer who runs into a streak of luck when a Wall Street tycoon drops a fur coat on her from a great height. She tries to return the coat, but Mr. Wall Street refuses to take it back–and she’s seen walking around with him. Naturally, everyone assumes she’s his mistress. Add in a swank hotel owner who wants to drum up his failing business with a celebrity and a hilarious side-plot involving insider stock trading, and you have the most market-accurate screwball ever. Also, Mr. Wall Street’s son Ray Milland hangs around trying to make it as a waiter. Naturally, he falls in love with Jean Arthur and complications ensue. There are some great scenes involving a hobo free-for-all at an automat (an old-fashioned restaurant with food in little microwaves) and our heroes trying to find out how to work a fancy bathtub. And the apartment Jean Arthur gets is just enormous. It makes a Brooklynite like myself drool. The more I think about it, the sweeter the movie seems. Highly recommended, but if you want sharper repartee’, look to Preston Sturges’s later works.