Folie douce

I'll start by saying seeing William Powell in drag is probably worth the price of admission on its own. Early on, you also have his playful repartee with Myrna Loy, in this the 10th of the 14 movies they made together. In 'Love Crazy', the happily married couple is about to celebrate its 4th anniversary, but get interrupted first by her mother-in-law (Florence Bates), and then by his old flame (Gail Patrick). In a comedy of errors, Loy thinks Powell has cheated on her, seeks a divorce, and then Powell attempts to postpone the proceedings by feigning insanity. It's fun to see Powell in various screwball moments, including getting his head stuck between elevator doors, pretending he's a teapot, and doing things like shoving round blocks into his mouth. Powell had tremendous range and carries the movie; Loy isn't bad herself, but has less to work with. The movie degenerates a bit towards the end, but it was reasonably engaging and fun to watch.

Stephen Ireland (William Powell) has been deliriously happy with his wife, Susan (Myrna Loy), for four years, but a series of misunderstandings begin on their fourth anniversary, involving a stalled elevator, Steve's old flame (who has just moved in downstairs) and a forgotten taxi cab. They end with Susan leaving Steve and taking up with the neighboring apartment dweller (Jack Carson), an expert archer who works best in his undershirt. Susan's mother (Florence Bates) is thrilled with this new choice, but Steve is out to win back his wife despite all obstacles. He pretends to be mad in order to delay the divorce, but winds up in an insane asylum. He escapes but is forced to dress as a woman and pretend to be his own sister in order to evade the police and win back his wife.

This delightful screwball comedy is solid and laugh-filled enough to please anyone, but hasn't got quite enough zest to rank with the best in the genre. Powell and Loy together guarantee good entertainment. And if they aren't enough this film is bursting at the seams with familiar character actors.

By the way, you know that thing people do when they mimic insanity, the thing that provides a running gag in this film? It involves running one's index finger up and down over one's lips to make a noise that sounds like "beedeebeedeebeedeebee." A friend of mine has coined a term for this bit of business: the "lip flubby." We need a term for this thing, so please help spread it.

One of my favourite screwball comedies, what with William Powell and Myrna Loy and great MGM cast and production values who could ask for anything more? Well, maybe a more even plotting, but on such a manic roller-coaster ride, you don't really have time to care.

Happy couple celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary are plunged into suspicion when Powell's slinky ex Gail Patrick and world champion bow and arrower Jack Carson (keeping his torso free) appear in their lives. Filing for divorce ensues, the only way Powell can stop it is to feign insanity. Things inevitably and delightfully go from bad to worse. And it all could have been avoided by an intelligible explanation by him to her of why there was a taxi cab waiting for him outside the hotel! Is a wife who's so ready to call her previously faithful and adoring husband a liar worthy of such a chase? But this is Powell & Loy and you know that everything is all right throughout and everything will be all right by the end because they obviously love each other so much. Carson put in a solid performance, it would have been a poorer film without his knockabout honesty. Powell and Carson keep hilariously jibing each other as nuts with bbble bbble bbble's, but I suppose some serious people today who have inexplicably watched this might not find the subject of madness treated the way they'd like. Phhhffft - political correctness is lunacy anyway! Favourite bits: Powell's bedraggled return from posting his mother-in-law's letter; freeing his feet from the tyranny of his enemy shoes; the method of escape from the sanatorium; Loy's elegant poise throughout in contrast to Powell's slapstick.

It's certainly not perfect but it's still a gem, a delightful 98 minutes of nonsense.

This script really could have used some trimming, but Powell really comes through with some truly memorable moments. I'll never get over his drag scene-I don't recall seeing many drag scenes that were ever truly so well done. I crack up every time!!!!!!! He really goes beyond the so-so script and breathes life into all his scenes. Jack Carson is a great addition as well. And Myrna, well she's just so Myrna! This movie would be nothing if weren't for her and her male co-stars performances. Its too bad that all the great moments and strong performances aren't sewn up with a tight script, but its still plenty of fun.

As a big fan of The Thin Man movies, I really wanted to see this film because of William Powell and Myrna Loy. I'm so glad I did because it was fantastic! It does fit the genre of screwball comedies of that time period without any alteration, so you may find yourself picking up on the rhythm of the script and predicting lines, as I did. The supporting cast is great, but what is surprising is that in this film, it almost feels like Myrna Loy is included in that group. William Powell took every scene he was in and carried it right away. He was droll and a little weird, but he still remained a believable character. There were some moments when I cringed, I'll only mention Abraham Lincoln if you haven't seen this movie, but they did not detract from me rolling around on the floor in laughter. I suppose I must mention Powell in drag, which is ridiculously funny and countered extremely well by Loy. She did her best work in her scenes with Powell just by playing along or completely denying any of his efforts to seem insane. Although they both get top billing, this is William Powell's film. He was hilarious and honest and I can't believe this film isn't more talked about!