 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 email this review to a friend
Revolutionary This film was leaps and bounds ahead of its time. Katharine Hepburn stars as Sylvia who is forced to drag herself as Sylvester so her father won't be arrested. Through various plot contrivances, Sylvester remains fooling everyone into thinking she is a he. Hepburn has a tremendous amount of fun playing a boy. Her physicality is amazing and she displaying her dextarity by jumping through windows and climbing rocks. This might be the most athletic female character in film history up to that time. Her portrayal of Sylvia, the meek and sweet daughter, is grating and annoying, but for the bulk of the film she is Sylvester and it is a liberating experience as a woman watching her thrive. Cary Grant plays her father's sidekick Jimmy who gives Sylvester a hard time, but is there to help out when needed. He gives the role all the smarm and delicious deviousness it requires and then some. He is an odd duck of a character, but in a film without a real leading man, he is a glorious bastard of a man. This film is famous for having probably the first big screen lesbian kiss, Sylvester is kissed by her father's new girlfriend. There is some strange editing during the scene, which makes one wonder just what they left out. The homosexual undertones flow throughout the film. Sylvia is attracted to Michael and there is serious heat between them, but only when she is dressed as a man. Sylvia is found attractive by two different women in the film, one of whom finds her just as attractive when she is dressed as a woman. This is dangerous ground they are treading for the era, and it is remarkable to watch. This is certainly not a masterpiece when it comes to construction, some of the editing is sloppy and Hepburn's acting is garish in parts, but it is a revolutionary work that led the way for a new kind of woman on screen and was an inspiration for the lesbian and feminist filmmakers of the second wave feminist movement. email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
RSS | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About MatchFlick® | Press | Contact Us | FAQs
Partnership and Advertising Opportunities | Movie Database | Merchandise ©2004-2008 MatchFlick®. All rights reserved. ©MOVIE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED AND THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS |