Some Like It Hot

"Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop."

Musicians Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon) are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  On the way to latest gig, they witness the Valentine's Day Massacre and barely escape Spats Columbo (Raft) and his goons.  They borrow clothes and wigs from some chorus girls and take a job in an all-girl band: Joe becomes Josephine and Jerry becomes Daphne.

The band heads to Florida, and new complications arise.  Joe falls for the band's lead singer, Sugar (Monroe), who is looking for a millionaire husband.  Meanwhile, Jerry as Daphne, is pursued by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III (Brown), who has been married many times and doesn't accept "no" as an answer.  Can they keep up the ruse and stay away from the mobsters, while still getting what they want?


This film was named as the #1 comedy film by the American Film Institutes (AFI) (AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs).  Over fifty years after it's release, this film still delivers the laughs.  Everything works: the plot, the writing, the performances.

While billed as a Marilyn Monroe film, it truly belongs to Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.  Monroe is the female lead / sex symbol, but she is only a minor player.  Lemmon pulls double duty as Jerry and Daphne.  He is incredible in this film (in every film).  He has excellent chemistry with Tony Curtis and Joe E. Brown.  His interactions with Brown are some of the best exchanges in the film (they share the most quoted line from the film, "Well, nobodies perfect").  Curtis portrays 3 characters: Joe, Josephine, and Junior... with a different accent for each.  According to IMDb.com, someone else provided the Josephine voice because Curtis couldn't maintain the higher pitched voice for an entire scene.  And Junior is an imitation of Cary Grant.  All brilliant.

Everything and everyone works.  Still a must-see movie after all these years!
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Some Like It Hot (1959) 120 minutes
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Marilyn Monroe as Sugar
Tony Curtis as Joe / Josephine
Jack Lemmon as Jerry / Daphne
George Raft as Spats Columbo
Joe E. Brown as Osgood Fielding III