Born Yesterday
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Don Johnson, Edward Herrmann, John Goodman, Max Perlich, Melanie Griffith Director: Luis Mandoki Brand: Buena Vista Home Video Cinematographer: Lajos Koltai Producer: Chris Soldo Producer: D. Constantine Conte Producer: Stephen Traxler Producer: Stratton Leopold Writer: Douglas McGrath Writer: Garson Kanin DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 100 minutes DVD Release Date: 2003-03-04 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Walt Disney Video Product features:
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| New | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $49.99 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $10.66 |
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Movie Reviews of Born Yesterday
Movie Review: Better than I expected
Summary: 2 Stars
The first time I tried watching this movie I ended up turning it off about a forth of the way through, vastly disappointed with the 1993 remake of one of my favorite movies of all time. Don Johnson's haircut was so goofy that I had a hard time taking him seriously, and Melanie Griffith paled in comparison to Judy Holliday's oscar-winning portrayal of dumb ex-showgirl Billie Dawn in the 1950 version. I was ready to throw the DVD in the garbage and dismiss it as a sorry excuse for a remake.
However, I decided to give it another chance a couple days later and watched the whole thing through. Perhaps I had been a bit hasty. You know what? I'm glad I did.
Melanie Griffith, though no Judy Holliday, did a good job as Billie Dawn. She was very believable. Not quite as comedic as the older version, and a little more toned-down (screaming "WHAAAAAT?" through the house was sadly lacking). Don Johnson played a great Paul Verrel, despite the fact that he is not Bill Holden (sorry, I'm biased), and had a doofy 90's hairdo (I have this thing against grown men with bowl-cuts). John Goodman played the part of Billie's brutish thug boyfriend excellently.
One thing that always bugs me is a remake that is modernized to such an extreme that I cannot tell it is a remake. Modernization often takes away important elements and themes that are central to the original version of the movie. I assumed it would be this way with the 1993 version of Born Yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case! While the costumes and slang were definitely of the 90's, the storyline and underlying themes were very much the same. I love how they kept an (slightly watered-down) aspect of American patriotism in the movie, and reminded us that intellectualism is often a facade for basic ignorance, and that each person has the power, the capacity and the opportunity to learn and grow if they are willing to make an effort. It's a great story.
All of that said, my advice to the prospective buyer is don't purchase the newer version first. Purchase the original version. Then, if you enjoy it as much as I think you will, buy the 1993 version and compare. :)