You for Me

This impressively silly film starts off with a bang with playboy Peter Lawford having a hunting accident which results in his getting buckshot in his tail. Bickering doctor Gig Young and nurse Jane Greer when not verbally sparring spend most of their screen time examining Lawford's derriere. Although this viewer is willing to concede that the aforementioned part of Lawford's anatomy may very well comprise that actor's greatest charm, the charm is not so great as to serve for the main focal point of an entire film especially when it is never even glimpsed by the audience. That notably absent and undoubtedly welcome sight alone could begin to atone for enduring nearly 80 minutes of Lawford's usual obnoxious urbanity and the total waste of both Young and Greer who are brought together by the end....Lawford's end, that is.

Tony Brown (Peter Lawford) gets shot in the butt during a hunting trip. Nurse Katie McDermad (Jane Greer) and surgeon Jeff Chadwick (Gig Young) are two of his caretakers. Brown is a big money contributor to the hospital. "Do you know who I am?" Lucille Brown (Rita Corday) is his gold-digging ex-wife.

It's a thin line between love and hate. At least, that's what Hollywood likes to believe. Brown needs to be less hateful and angry at the beginning. He could get easy sympathy by playing up the pain of getting shot in the butt. It's funny and a good excuse to be angry-funny. That's what's missing from that first meet-cute. It needs to be cuter. He does slip in some good sex humor but he's also too mean at times. On the second side of triangle, Dr. Jeff is too arrogant and too straight. He needs to push harder on the humor or be much more arrogant and stiff if he plays the bad side of the triangle. Jane Greer seems to be the only one who hits the bullseye consistently. She's sly. She's sarcastic. She's able to make this work despite the a few bad notes from the other performers although I don't like her with either man. That's where the meet-cute with Brown is so important. This has the potential of a good standard rom-com but the execution is a little off.

You for Me needed much more work to be an attractive feature. The cast has no chemistry together, and you don't care which man Jane Greer ends up with. Its attempts at humor are particularly lame, and it seems to get worse as the movie progresses. Should have been rewritten and recast, but we don't live in the best of worlds, so this is what we got. It isn't so hot. A definite second feature or 'B' film.

Though a B film, shot in studio sets and the back lot, superior writing and performances from the leads provide a very pleasant time. The story, though pretty predictable, is flawlessly constructed, the dialog witty. Greer, Young, and Lawford give flawless light comedy performances with occasional dramatic moments.

It's a shame that Greer didn't have a more robust film acting career, because she's such a good actress, always natural and believable, and handles the verbal give and take perfectly.

The film has no film composing credits, but the sprited, sprightly music under the opening credits is "Confetti" by Bronislau Kaper, probably written for another movie, which had some life beyond the films, as did some of his other movie theme music.

"You for Me" is a second feature starring the beautiful Jane Greer, Peter Lawford, and Gig Young. Elaine Stewart appears at the end of the film looking va-va-va-voom gorgeous.

Lawford is a wealthy man, Tony Brown, a potential donor to the hospital, who comes to the hospital with a rather embarrassing injury. Nurse Katie McDermad, who was on her way out shopping when this emergency came in, isn't too sympathetic. She doesn't realize who he is, and her sarcasm isn't appreciated. She's fired.

Dr. Chadwick (Young) advises Katie that the money Brown intended to donate before she was so nasty is needed for his research project, so she goes to his room to apologize to him. She soon finds herself in the middle of a triangle, with both men attracted to her. Meanwhile, she has to deal with her middle class family at home.

Very slight comedy, but I'm a big fan of Jane Greer's. She's lovely and Lawford is charming and exceptionally handsome. Gig Young is affable. They just didn't have too much to work with.

You can skip this one, but if you're a fan of Jane Greer's, see it. She's in little enough.