Woman of the Year
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Movie Reviews of Woman of the Year
Movie Review: "I've just launched Gerald."
Summary: 3 Stars
George Stevens' "Woman of the Year" is a romantic comedy mixed with social commentary. Between the laughs is mixed in a pair of messages: (1) that success in life can feel somewhat empty if you have no one to share it with, and (2) a domestic home life can prove to be a daunting challenge to even the most accomplished of public figures.
Newspaper columnist Tess Harding (Katharine Hepburn) is drawn into a good natured war of words with a co-worker over comments she made during a radio show. Although entertaining to readers, the printed jabs hurled between her and sportswriter Sam Craig (Spencer Tracy) comes to an abrupt end when their boss makes it clear he wants his newspaper writers to maintain a united front to the public. During this announcement, the two writers meet for the first time and become smitten with one another. Although Tess and Sam seemingly have nothing in common, they grow closer and eventually marry. However, problems begin almost immediately as Tess is unable to comprehend the importance of being married and Sam becomes frustrated with her inability to keep her work life and home life separate. Tess, however, soon gains some valuable insight into her situation when she attends her father's wedding and soon Tess and Sam are reunited with a much better understanding of their relationship.
Watching Hepburn and Tracy work their magic on screen gives "Woman of the Year" a special charm. Yet the film produces some mixed reactions. Despite the quality of its performances and its addressing of relevant social issues, its messages come across as a little misguided. The film implies that a successful career and a fulfilling domestic life are incompatible for women. To make matters worse, the screwball manner in which Tess is portrayed in the last third of the film causes the film to lose more of its luster. It seems that the intent was to add in more comedy to the final act to help offset the mounting drama, but the comedy comes at the expense of undermining Tess' character. The positive role model she created for women up to this point is washed away as the bumbling Tess finds it difficult to accomplish such simple tasks as lighting a stove or making toast. Yet, despite this unfortunate turn of events, "Woman of the Year" is still an entertaining film. The writing is sharp for the most part and the baseball game sequence is a classic. Tracy's final scene in the film is also great as he finally lets Tess' personal assistant know what he really thinks of him. Chalk up "Woman of the Year" as a film that fell short of its aspirations but is still solid entertainment nonetheless.
Movie Review: Ho-Hum
Summary: 3 Stars
I LOVE the young version of Katherine Hepburn. She was beautiful in an atypical way and was perfect at playing the coquette, something many people may not know if they've only seen her in her older, spinster rolls. You can certainly see that side of her in this movie, but even Hepburn's charm or real life chemistry with Spencer Tracy can't elevate this film above average. If you want to see her really shine, check out "Bringing Up Baby" or the "The Philadelphia Story."
The basic premise of the movie is that you have a romantic comedy dealing with role reversal--the woman, Hepburn, is the successful one who's worried about her career, and the man, Spencer Tracy, is the second banana with the unimportant job. Both of them are reporters working for the same paper, but this movie doesn't have any of the snappy dialog you might see in a movie like "His Girl Friday."
The premise of the movie was probably original for it's time, but the problem is the execution. For one, the movie is two long--nearly two hours while most comedies are around 90 minutes. And that extra time isn't filled with good dialog or screwball scenes...instead you get a few long, drawn out attempts at romance that just seem to go on for too long. It doesn't hold your interest.
That isn't to say it's a bad movie--it's just somewhat forgettable. Tracy and Hepburn both had great careers and made several classic films--many of them together--this just isn't one of them.