Remember?

It's a very difficult task to make a film about a cheating fiancée and a betraying your best friend into a light comedy. But that is exactly what Remember? tries to do. The basic premise is that Greer Garson and Lew Ayres are a couple. Robert Taylor is Ayres best friend and when he meets Garson he starts romancing her right under Ayres nose. This is suppose to be funny. Taylor is unbelievably suave and handsome and I guess that is suppose to make it alright with the viewer.

Garson upon meeting Taylor leaves Ayres to his work while she spends the day with Taylor. She returns later for her date with Ayres, with Taylor still in tow. Again, this is suppose to be funny. Taylor and Garson soon marry leaving Ayres and the viewer in a state of shock. The storyline downplays the conflict (and reality) and has Ayres as a nice guy who tries to bring his ex-fiancée and best friend back together after they have a falling out.

I believe the film is trying to be a romantic comedy, however I found it neither funny nor romantic.

This is a true Classic Film from 1939 and both Robert Taylor and Greer Garson were very young and just starting their careers with MGM. This was a very stupid story that portrayed plenty of Martini Drinking and I think the director and producer did the same while working on this film. Robert Taylor,(Jeffrey Holland),"Killers of Kilimanjaro",'59, fell in love with Greer Garson,(Linda Bronson Holland),"Random Harvest",'42, and had plenty of up's and down's with their marriage. Lew Ayres, (Schuyler Ames),"Love Boat",'81 was also deeply in love with Linda and was going to marry her and his good buddy, Jeff stole her away from him. There are background scenes of the New York World's Fair of 1939, and the plot goes around and around like an old time Merry-go-round. Billie Burke plays the mother to Jeffrey Holland and does a very comical role, with the high voice she used in the Wizard of Oz, 1939 as the Good Witch. Some of the friends of Jeffrey say that his eyes look like Rainbows and changed color every once in a while. Try to REMEMBER, this was a 1939 film and just take it from THERE !

The idea of a soon to be divorced couple taking a drug that causes amnesia AND their falling in love all over again is a cute idea for a romantic film. However, there is just too much irrelevant comedic stuff in the first half of the film that just seems poorly written and a bit silly. Sticking with this story idea and introducing it much sooner might have helped the pacing--and gotten rid of all the irrelevant crap early in the film.

The film starts with Lew Ayers introducing his fiancée (Greer Garson) to his best friend (Robert Taylor). Like a good friend, Taylor steals Greer for himself. At this point, the film is half completed--and made Garson and Taylor seem like real jerks. Poor Ayers--he seemed like such a nice guy that you couldn't help but hate the newly married couple. Why did they include this initial plot at all? There were some supposedly comedic moments leading up to it and Billie Burke plays her idiot routine well--but why write the film this way? It was as if the film didn't trust itself to be a romance and so it through in comedy and plot elements that seemed anything but romantic.

Overall, it's not a bad film but a huge waste of talent. With Greer Garson (just off her success in GOODBYE MR. CHIPS), Robert Taylor and Lew Ayers, it should have been dynamite. The biggest problem is making it a goofy comedy instead of a romance. Blame for this goes to the writers and producer--why did they do this?!

I gave this little ditty a 9 out of 10 because it's worth it to see some very funny dialog, good acting, and three very beautiful stars! Sometimes I'm a classic film 'snob' and prefer not to waste my time watching trash, so please know that I grade harshly. So, it was with delight that I discovered this little gem I'd never heard of. I'm a huge fan of Lew Ayres; he can do no wrong in my book - ever. I see that "Remember?" didn't get glowing reviews, and I urge you not to let that stop you. I rarely laugh out loud while movie-watching, but I found myself doing so! This is an adorable bit of cinema. It was NOT meant to be sophisticated or thought-provoking. It's for FUN - plain and simple!

Fairly mundane, but foreshadows "sunshine of the spotless mind" fifty years ahead. Acting is charming. Script amusing if labored. I did find myself chuckling from time to time. Any attempt at building a real story usurped by "Thin man style" drunk acts of principals. Billie Burke is a highlight and the plot device of the erased memories is fun. The directing seems to be the problem here as the movie never reaches a strong comedic pace necessary for the screwball underpinnings. Lots of fun moments that don't add up to any kind of structural pay-off, not a bad movie just fails to be a great one. if you like screwball the elements are here. If you have seen the great ones here is one to understand what makes the others great. Maybe Charlie Kauffman stuck this baby in his subconscious for the gimmick idea of memory loss through which kismet repeats its destiny. Lew Ayres seems like an earlier version of Jack Lemmon.