Mariage double

A screwball romantic comedy...but somebody forgot to tighten the screws. Confusion reigns after a ne'er-do-well man becomes involved with both a would-be actress and her domineering, humorless sister. Funny cast (including the "Thin Man" couple, Myrna Loy and William Powell) have a high time with their eccentric characters and fast, witty dialogue, but the plot is extremely thin, taking everyone around in circles. Too bad this didn't have firmer handling, the potential was here for a comedy classic. Loy's continuous bad temper gets the biggest laughs, however the wild slapstick climax boasts some very amusing sight-gags. **1/2 from ****

... with all of its chaotic slapstick, that and the fact that some of this film was shot shortly after Jean Harlow's sudden untimely death makes what probably would have been an 8/10 screwball comedy lose a star. William Powell was involved with Harlow and she and Myrna Loy had been close friends, so her death naturally cast a pall over the production.

It has a cute premise. Charlie Lodge (William Powell) is an avantgarde artist who lives in a trailer outside of a local nightspot - Spike's. He has made the acquaintance of Irene Agnew (Florence Rice) and her passive fiance Waldo Beaver (John Beal). It seems that Charlie has written a movie script and he has Irene and Waldo acting out the leads for him, although this entire matter just gets dropped about 15 minutes in. Irene and Waldo are very afraid of Irene's older sister Margit (Myrna Loy), as she would disapprove of the two - adults mind you - associating with and befriending Charlie.

When Margit does hear of it and goes to retrieve them, she walks in on Charlie reenacting a scene from his movie script where he passionately embraces Irene. Margit thinks it's a real embrace, but in a way it is. Irene has become smitten with Charlie as a result, and Margit goes to Charlie to tell him to stop seeing her sister. However, Charlie is actually smitten with Margit, and so he makes excuses to see her. Initially that excuse is a portrait he says he wants to paint of her, but like the movie script, that too gets dropped shortly thereafter. Charlie pushes things to the edge to get Waldo to show some spine to Irene so as to win her back, and also to get Margit to fall for him. How does this work out? Watch and find out.

If you appreciate the magic of Loy and Powell then I think you'll like this one too, but I've seen better from the pair made before this and I've seen better films starring them that were made afterwards.

For the most part Double Wedding is a standard rom-com about opposites attracting, with Myrna Loy and William Powell carrying most of the screenplay weight. But it's John Beal's delightfully clueless literal- minded suitor to Loy's sister (ably but forgettably played by Florence Rice) that makes this film work. Scenes he shares with Powell as a hopeless actor and would-be man of the world are laugh-out-loud funny. His style of understated flat-affect comedy wouldn't become popular until the Coen brothers. Powell and Loy are capable as always, and the sets and costumes have a high sheen, but this film is Beal's steal. There's lots of misunderstandings and misapprehensions, all of which don't add much to the genre, but it's an amusing way to spend a few hours in the company of experts.

Considering that this film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy, it's definitely worth seeing--as are all of their films together. Even their lesser films together are wonderful and worth seeing--so it's a natural that I watched "Double Wedding".

In this film, Powell plays the ultimate bohemian and Loy plays a lady who is incredibly controlling and anti-fun. The idea of these two getting together is pretty far-fetched! But, because this is a Hollywood film, you know that eventually the two will find love. However, how they get there and how much fun the film becomes is exactly why you should see the film.

It all begins with Powell teaching a young couple to act and they are discussing his latest screenplay. The three are fast friends and have fun planning on making a film together. HOWEVER, when the very controlling sister (Loy) finds out about this, she assumes the worst and demands Powell stop seeing her sister and her fiancé. Mostly this is because Powell isn't in her plan for the two--as Loy has decided the two will marry, where they will go on their honeymoon, etc.--and the two idiots allow this! Little does this compulsive planner and controller know that Powell has plans for her! Overall, this is yet another fun pairing of Powell and Loy. While the film is silly and contrived, it's also very entertaining and clever. The ending was insanely chaotic--like a Marx Brothers film--and a lot of fun.

Watching this movie was like looking through a beautiful, whimsical kaleidoscope. So many facets are perfect: Loy at her peak of gorgeous, wry sophistication; the Deco sets; Powell's gentle irony; the relationships of various characters and the consistency of dialog; even the physical pranks were great--and I don't like slapstick all that much! This film reminded me of Shop Around the Corner. It wasn't as good, that's a tall order, but there was something bigger going on in this movie than just the usual romantic farce. I have to admire the writer's and director's ability to pull off a romantic comedy between two such diametrically opposed people. The heroine is the quintessential control freak; the hero, as laid back and tolerant as a hippie of the sixties. No one apologizes for their quirks, which is refreshing, and neither of them had to change all that much to make the ending work. And as far as acting goes, Loy and Powell don't hold back any punches (literally!) whenever the two characters collide. It is amazing to watch them knowing how they were reacting to Harlow's death during shooting. I love finding old movies, and this one is buried treasure.