Irma la Douce

So it's not the greatest Billy Wilder/Jack Lemmon comedy ever, but it's definitely a very amusing film with witty performances from Jack Lemmon and Shirly McLaine who prove here once again what a believable, great screen couple they make. The scene stealer in this one, though, is Lou Jacobi as Moustache, the hilarious and "wise" bartender across the street. The film loses some of its humor at somes places, but it really takes off the moment Jack becomes Lord X. The music is a great asset, too.

I love Billy Wilder, but boy is Irma la Douce a mess...

The biggest issues are the length and the confused tone. This film should have been an hour and forty-five minutes tops; two and a half hours with few laughs or charm to offer the audience is just torture. And then there is the issue of the tone. The film does not know what it is: a sexual farce? A romantic comedy? A romantic dramedy? I don't know, and I don't believe the movie knows either!

The first hour is full of good things: MacLaine and Lemmon have chemistry and while none of the comedy is particularly hilarious, it is witty and fun for what it is. But the moment we get to the second hour, Lemmon's characterization changes in a most improbable manner and the "funny" parts all fall flat. And did I mention the unnecessarily long run time? The one saving grace of the picture is MacLaine's performance as the titular prostitute, whose lust for life equals her sense of world weariness and soulful poignancy.

It's worth one viewing, but it's hard to recommend it to anyone outside of the Wilder, Lemmon, or MacLaine fan base.

Billy Wilder is one of the few masters, and his writing brilliance is on full display in this film about a straight-laced cop who falls for a prostitute, and cooks up an ill-conceived scheme to keep her as his own.

Jack Lemmon was very good at this sort of broad, slapstick comedy, and you can see his influence on other great comedy actors, particularly Tom Hanks. He and Shirley MacLaine generally succeed at reprising their screen chemistry from 'The Apartment'. And Lou Jacobi, in the roll of Moustache, the all-seeing, all-knowing cafe owner, steals the show.

The film has some laugh-out-loud moments, and would be deserving of an 8 or even 9 had Wilder not overcooked the ending. A traditional Shakespeare would have ended 20-30 minutes earlier, the moment when the deception is revealed and the gig is up, however, Wilder decided to milk it, and ultimately, the film jumps the shark with some truly nonsensical and unnecessary plot twists. It's a shame. However, the first two hours contain some great moments, so would ultimately recommend it, especially for Wilder fans.

A policeman, Nestor, falls in love with a prostitute, Irma, but doesn't want her seeing other men. So he creates an alter-ego, a wealthy Englishman, Lord X, who will be her only customer. Seems like a solid enough plan...to him. What could possibly go wrong?

Directed by the great Billy Wilder and written by Wilder and his long-time collaborator I. A. L. Diamond this has all the usual Wilder comedy trademarks: a warm, light-hearted story with intelligent humour and some great one-liners. The subject matter is but more risqué than usual, and would have been pushing the envelope a bit in 1963, but even then Wilder turns the film into something beautiful and funny rather than seedy or salacious.

Another factor is the performances. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were brilliant together in Wilder's 1960 masterpiece "The Apartment" (which for me is his greatest work). Three years, and two Wilder films, later Wilder pairs them together for this film and the effect is no less spectacular.

Both are perfectly cast and give superb performances. Lemmon is great as Nestor, using his great physical comedy skills to great effect. MacLaine is wonderful as Irma, somehow seeming innocent and fragile while playing a cynical prostitute. She got a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

On a trivia note, watch out for James Caan in his debut performance. He only has about 30 seconds of screentime and one line and goes uncredited.

On the negative side, the film does threaten to degenerate into farce at many points in time. I thought "this is going somewhere silly" on several occasions but to Wilder's credit he pulls it back from the brink on every occasion.

Wilder also doesn't seem to know when to end the story. He overplayed and overextended the Lord X persona too long: it seemed to have reached its natural endpoint but he then kept going with it.

Overall, a great comedy.

Jack Lemon. What a natural. What an actor. Shirley MacLaine also very good. This film with all its convoluted twists and turns and knots and what not, has a beautiful love story at the center of it. It appears to be incredibly sweet, and touching, all the while supplying good comic relief, in particular with that bartender character and his insane anecdotes where he's been in every corner of the world and back, very good stuff - and the film does really well at developing lots of content in a plot that is fairly simple...

but - and there's a big but (and I cannot lie) - it lingers for too long to a point where the viewer is ready to indulge and buy into the film's surrealistic plot for a while... but then it exaggerates just too much and a growing sense of silliness starts spilling out of it. In that, it's also too long: nearly two hours and thirty minutes, for such a cute, light story there's no reason whatsoever for that length.

Could've been better as a shorter, more focused, less leaky story.

Good stuff still. 7/10.