The film starts out like any other...our heroes are down on their luck. Set in probation era Chicago, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon play Joe and Jerry, two musicians who are looking for money. They find it after a dangerous run-in with the mob, but in the ranks of an all-women band.
Once Joe and Jerry become Josephine and Daphne, the film really starts moving. We are then introduced to Marilyn Monroe as "Sugar" Kane, who is equal parts sweet and clumsy. For Sugar, love is an elusive and she always looks in the same, and wrong, place. Beneath the ditzy exterior Sugar has a heart of gold and is very sincere and caring.
In the scene where Joe, dressed as a millionaire named Junior, breaks up with Sugar over the phone her eyes are dripping with tears. And yet--she continues to play sweet in the conversation. She never finds love because she always picked men for their money or appearances (her long chain of saxophone-playing ex-lovers). Joe, although he really deceives Sugar as Josephine, is the only man who would ever give something to her in return (a real diamond bracelet and flowers) and a fantasy that she's finally hooked a millionaire. Despite the potential problems that tricking Sugar might actually create in real life, the film looks beyond it for a more jovial ending where Sugar and Joe fall in love.
As fate would have it, Jerry as Daphne actually gets a millionaire named Osgood. Osgood was immediately taken with Daphne's looks (and I believe...ankles?) and after multiple attempts Daphne just plays along with Osgood's affections and takes advantage of the perks (after all...he is a real millionaire).
Some Like it Hot is a real delight both in it's comedy and talented cast but also in it's progressive nature. I was surprised that a movie starring two men dressed as women could be one of the most successful comedies of the 1950's. In fact, along with movies like Psycho, Some Like it Hot contributed to the end of the Production Code (mid-60's). The obvious visual gag of two leading men in drag isn't taken to offensive heights. The two men even sympathize with anyone who would dress in women's clothes because of the difficulty walking in high-heels and the unwanted attention you receive from men. They aren't made to look like idiots (although they can be foolish) and aren't condemned for their actions (although I suppose they get away with it because they are straight men in drag and it is a comedy...)
The film really ends with a bang as Daphne tries to explain to Osgood that (s)he can't have his children etc...and (s)he finally takes off her wig and exclaims, "I'm a man!" and Osgood replies, "Well, nobody's perfect." It's such a wonderful ending and it really encapsulates the kind of goofy, yet sincere sensibility of the film.
-Claudia
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