Holiday
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Movie Reviews of Holiday
Movie Review: Marvelously relevant for today
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a marvelous film with two of Hollywood's greatest, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. It's also a classic, Depression-era film in its focus on dysfunctional lives of the very rich, with much of it shot in a NYC home whose immensity is astonishing. Grant, as Johnny Case, demonstrates that, having made a small fortune on the stock market, he has no need for more. He wants to travel and enjoy life. For those caught up in the grind of typical Depression-era jobs, this 1938 film provided a marvelous escape.
There are parallels to today. Given the high taxes the New Deal placed on financial success, Case's urge to wander rather than labor for the IRS made a lot of sense. Those he disagreed with are portrayed as greedy. They might have been better portrayed as stupid. Recent research at UCLA says that FDR's policies, hostile as they were to innovation and success, added seven years to the Depression. His current heir in the White House seems intent on following a similar path, one that could turn a recession plus credit crunch into a full-fledged depression and serve as an excuse to engage in an FDR-like expansion in the scope of government. [...]
The "forgotten man" of the title is the working man who gets shafted when a politician agrees to provide money to someone in exchange for their vote--people for instance, who borrowed more than they could afford for a home. And many of today's forgotten men, those who've been careful not to buy too much home for their income, are thinking of adopting Cary's Grant's solution, paying less in taxes by earning less and enjoying the time they save. And without their hard work and innovation, the US economy could go downhill quite fast. It's what we get when we elect a president who, like FDR, has never held a real job and who thinks words are realities.
Movie Review: Stars sparkle in pedestrian story
Summary: 4 Stars
Grant and Hepburn sparkle in this "screwball comedy" which is definitely worth seeing but which does not reach the heights the same two would scale in "The Philadelphia Story." Grant is a successfgul young broker who has made his own fortune through charm and hard work but who yearns to get away and discover who he really is. On a skiing trip, he meets Julia, a fabulously wealthy heiress. The two persuade each other they are in love -- but of course it is the elder sister played by Hepburn who is Grant's real match.
Julia's family inhabit a mansion worthy of J.P Morgan. The family is headed by a tyrannical old banker. The son is a drunk. Mother is dead. One wouldn't think this movie was made in 1938. The Great Depression is nowhere mentioned; neither is the swiftly gathering storm in Europe (except in one comment made by a guest at Grant's engagement party.)
The dialogue, from a stage play, is a bit wordy and old-fashioned. oddly, the best moment in this movie comes in a piece of physical comedy when Hepburn climbs on Grant's shoulders and does a graceful dive, ending in the two of them somersaulting across the floor.
Well it all ends as it should and they sail off to France (which will soon be occupied by the Nazis). It's all harmless fun and escapism. Very good but not great.
Movie Review: Delightful "Holiday" for the viewer too
Summary: 4 Stars
By 1938, Cary Grant had finally loosened up after half a dozen years of mainly stodgy performance as a Paramount contract player. Credit director George Cukor and maybe even Katharine Hepburn for the breakthrough in the 1936 flop "Sylvia Scarlett" when suddenly Grant bloomed on screen. In "Holiday", the trio came together again and "Holiday" was as liberating for Hepburn as it was for Grant. They are a great team. The story has an angle about life and money which adds enormously to the appeal. The supporting cast are first rate and Jean Dixon, one of my favourites, has a small but pivotal role which she makes memorable as usual.
Amazon themselves have posted a first rate review so I merely confirm that the DVD print is very good, there is a pleasant featurette about the film which runs over into a subsequent Grant film "Only Angels Have Wings" and some information about an introductory scene set at Lake Placid which was an attempt by the writers to "open up" the play but cut from the released film by Cukor because it added nothing.
The DVD is best value if purchased as part of the "Cary Grant Signature Collection", a gem of a box set.
Movie Review: Holdiay - for Any Day of the Year!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of our go-to, feel-good movies. If you appreciate the old films, this one is lesser known and great fun. It is perfect for after Christmas - when you are still in the mood for a holiday movie - or for July, when you want that holiday lift, but a Christmas movie just seems a bit much. Cary Grant couldn't be more charming, and Katherine Hepburn is the black sheep of the family Grant plans to marry into. Edward Everett Horton and Jean Dixon are Grant's delightful friends in this perfect romantic comedy.Movie Review: Fan of old movies
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie's social commentary is relevant today as much as it was when it was made. It's always a pleasure to watch the acting of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and they don't disappoint in this movie