Born Yesterday
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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. :)
Movie Review: GOOD ACTING BUT IT'S NOT THE ORIGINAL......
Summary: 2 Stars
Although I am a fan of Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson and John Goodman, I am not a fan of this version of Born Yesterday. If I had never seen the original or if the original was not one of my favorite movies, I may have rated it higher, because the story and the acting are good. But the original is a classic and, in my opinion, a movie should only be remade if the original can be improved on, and this one doesn't meet that standard. The best part of this movie is the ingenious song about some of the Amendments to the Constitution sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." If you really want to see this movie in its classic form, buy the original Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford version. Note to Hollywood: Classics don't need to be remade!Movie Review: The Original is BETTER!
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie deserves zero stars. Avoid any version (VHS or DVD) of it!See the original in all its Glorious black and white beauty! The original is a million times better than this trite,stale re-hash with a not-very-talented cast. This a remake that should never have been made,it is horrible! To even suggest that Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson could recapture the charm and sparkle of Judy Holliday & William Holden is preposterous! Melanie Griffith has got to be one of the worst actresses ever, and she butchers this role. As for Don Johnson, it takes more than a pair of horn-rimmed glasses to pretend he is William Holden. John Goodman has the right girth and maybe a bit of the swagger and behaves like a brutish lout to compare with Broderick Crawford in the original "Born Yesterday". But just because the three leads in this remake may look or sound a little like the 3 Academy Award winning talents that were in the original cast, does not mean the movie will work. There is good reason why a remake hadn't been attempted for over 30 years--the film is so good, why mess with it? That's what this version is, a mess!Hollywood insists on tinkering with classics like this to try to bring them to a new audience, but most of the time, they fail, miserably. How many times (and millions of dollars later)do they need to be reminded of this? To borrow that old joke,(when somebody is trying to 'put one over on you'), "...let me check my driver's license, to see if I wasn't born yesterday " :
Don't get fooled by this movie.
It is wretched! Run, don't walk far,far, away from this one!Avoid it like the plague.
Rent or buy the original BORN YESTERDAY, you'll be glad you did!