Love Crazy

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.

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.

There are genuinely funny moments in this film; I didn't want to take my eyes off Powell and Loy for a second during the first half. The last act, however, really gets ridiculous with the psychiatrists' examination of Powell. It may have been inane just for laughs, but it seemed to escape me. Besides that, all the misunderstandings between characters, and especially the elevator scene, are prime examples of comedy that will be hard to top. It's hard to find that excellent Powell/Loy chemistry anywhere else, though their other films are of higher quality.

In watching Love Crazy I was amazed at how the film picked up in the second half. In the first half William Powell and Myrna Loy are the usual happy married couple, but through some typical movie situations, some of them very forced, they wind in divorce court.

Powell realizes that things have just gotten completely out of hand and wants to apply a break to the divorce. But Loy won't hear of it. So Powell decides to put on a crazy act because if insanity is claimed a thirty day hold is put on the proceedings.

Sad for Powell, but hilarious for the viewer the scheme succeeds all to well. The second half of the film reaches a frantic pace that comes close to something Mel Brooks might put together. Powell is first trying to prove he's insane and then very much trying to prove he's not.

Such wonderful supporting players as Florence Bates, the mother-in-law from hell, neighbors slinky Gail Patrick and slow burn Donald MacBride; blow-hard Jack Carson, a redundancy if there ever was one, Viennese psychiatrist Sig Ruman, make this Powell-Loy film a joy to watch and one of the better ones where they're not Nick and Nora Charles.

Powell does more physical type comedy in this film than in any other I've ever seen. Even more than Libeled Lady because it had only that one classic scene in the trout stream. Here Powell is engaging in all kinds of screwy behavior because he's trying to convince people he's just that. Topped off by him shaving his famous mustache and getting into drag to play his own make believe sister.

Great screwball comedy one of the best of its kind.

Worth the price of admission is seeing William Powell pretending to be insane in order to postpone divorce proceedings--and then, to top that, disguise himself as a female relative in what has to be one of the funniest madcap screwball comedies ever!

Jack Carson, Gail Patrick and the wonderful Florence Bates (as the mother-in-law from hell) are captivating in supporting roles. It's a riot from beginning to end--fast-paced and sure to tickle your funnybone--if you have one.

Powell and Loy were a wonderful team as Nick and Nora Charles--but this is their finest screwball comedy and they're both at the top of their form. Well worth viewing, it's a surprisingly little known gem.