Nacida ayer

You can never recreate a classic, but that's no reason to dismiss BORN YESTERDAY.

The lead trio of Melanie Griffith, John Goodman and Don Johnson are terrific as they update the classic play/film about a dizty blonde who unleashes her untapped brain power under the tutelage of a newspaper reporter. Goodman in particular is outstanding, drawing our hatred and sympathy with ease as the bribing workaholic fervently amassing a fortune when money is far from his main problem. It's impossible to recall him ever being this effective or adding so much to a film.

All things considered, however, this is Griffith's film. True, she's no June Holliday, and this is certainly not the 1950 landmark picture. But our sexy star is not out of her league in bringing Billie Dawn to color, ably growing as her once-vacant head is filled with knowledge and free thought. Laugh-out-loud comedy is not necessarily her forte, but she can elicit a chuckle here or there when called upon. Her chemistry with tutor-turned-fiancé Johnson doesn't exactly set the screen on fire, yet the pair remain fun to watch.

When it comes to BORN YESTERDAY, the best advice has already been given: stick with the original. That said, if you wind up catching this remake and judge it on its own merits, you'll be pleasantly entertained. It's a harmless, if unspectacular effort.

Born Yesterday (1950) is one of funniest films ever made. This

version has Melanie Griffith attempting the impossible,trying to

recreate the role that won Judy Holiday a best actress Oscar. Although Griffith tries hard, she is no match for Holiday, and Don

Johnson is certainly no substitute for William Holden. The only one

of the cast who comes close to the original, is John Goodman. For anybody that doesn't know the story outline, Harry Block,(John

Goodman ) a crooked junk tycoon hires a journalist Paul Verrall

(Don Johnson ) to teach his girlfriend Billie Dawn, some social

skills, as she is unused the high society life of the Washington

elite. In a choice between the two, watch the original.

Noting that the folks who give out the Razzie Awards put Melanie Griffith up for Worst Actress I have to say in her defense that she certainly is no Judy Holliday. In fact the film is like a summer stock production of the play.

Which ran back in the post war years for four years on Broadway during the post World War 2 years and starred Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas, and Gary Merrill. The original film which came out in 1950 had Judy Holliday winning her Bes Actress Oscar. Broderick Crawford and William Holden played the two male leads.

This 90s remake is updated to suit the times and Harry Brock the self made millionaire could have been modeled on Donald Trump. John Goodman is the same kind of bully Crawford was and Trump is. The kind of man who as Oscar Wilde said knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

His companion/mistress is Griffith a former Las Vegas showgirl who acknowledges she is one ignorant bimbo. But Goodman decides she needs a bit of education to fit in Washington society. So he hires writer Don Johnson to tutor her. She proves a more than apt pupil.

Johnson and Griffith herself discover she has the means to bring Goodman down. Let's say one of the cleverest of Goodman's schemes bites him where the bite marks don't show.

Goodman and Johnson are good replacements for Paul Douglas/Crawford and Gary Merrill/Holden respectively. But Griffith while good seemed to be channeling too much of Judy Holliday in her performance. She missed the chance to make the role her own.

Still I'd see it. Especially since we endured four years of Harry Brock presidency.

this is sort of OK as an afternoon TV movie but stands no comparison against the Oscar nominated and winning original.

The Cukor version has class written all over it with stupendous performances from Broderick Crawford, Judy Holiday and William Holden, great comic timing and real pace.

This is just ambling along, making the motions, insipid in comparison, the famous gin rummy scene is a bit embarrassing really. John Goodman can't make his mind up whether he wants to be a bully or sympathetic, his pest controller in Anachrophobia was a far better comic performance I think. Don Johnson is so low key he seems to be sleepwalking through the role. Melenie Griffith was far better in Working Girl with an all round superior character transformation. So maybe the script and especially direction have to take the blame to a greater degree.

Cheap off-cut compared to prime rump steak.

The casting of crude millionaire Harry Brock is crucial to the success of this film simply because he dominates the story even when he isn't on screen. Choose the wrong actor and the whole thing will collapse because he is the origin of the story's conflict and therefore needs to be strong and bold. Luckily, the producers cast beefy John Goodman in the role and he managed to strike just the right combination of pent-up rage and apple-cheeked smiles. Although he's a Citizen Kane-type monster who slaps his girlfriend around and believes the offer of jewellery or money can soothe all ills, he also displays moments of genuine emotion that makes him quite likable at times. I guess the idea was to show how the nice guy he once was has been devoured by his hunger for money – hardly original, but nicely played by Goodman, anyway.

The story is essentially a wake-up call to the slumbering giant that is the American public masquerading as a romantic comedy. A book called Democracy in America – which was actually written in the 19th Century by a Frenchman named Tocqueville – plays a big part. By studying its concepts, Brock's moll Billy (Melanie Griffith) awakens to the fact that she is being duped by Harry, who represents the forces of rampant capitalism, and rises up against her oppressor. Whether the message is particularly relevant to its target audience is open to question, but perhaps its assumption that it won't really be taken too seriously allows the film to make its symbolism so literal that few will miss the parallels. For example when Ed Devery (Edward Hermann), Brock's right-hand man who clearly feels he has sold his soul ('I died twelve years ago,' he tells Brock after his employer shows concern for striking him in a rage) picks up a copy of the book it signals a reawakening of his conscience which is quickly quashed when Brock snatches it from his hand and throws it to the ground. Others, like the radio presenter, pay lip service to the concept without really understanding it. The way the message is couched in this straightforward simplicity raises the film higher than others of its type.

In a bland, thankless role that goes nowhere, Don Johnson wears horn-rimmed glasses and combs his hair forward to dispel memories of designer-clad cops. Even if he was anything more than a workmanlike actor he would struggle to do anything with the role. Griffith is likable enough, but her rapid transformation from bubble-headed blonde to hair-in-a-bun brain-box is so fast it fairly takes your breath away. One minute she's impatiently searching for something to watch during the dead time between the soaps and Entertainment Tonight and the next she's teaching a group of Senators the American constitution.

The film itself is entertaining enough; it certainly isn't as bad as you'd expect, and it's rating on this site is surprisingly low. But then, I suppose a lot of people watch this because they've seen (and liked) the original, which is a major hurdle for any film to overcome.