Nascidos para Casar

I am a huge fan of both Jimmy Stewart and Carole Lombard. However, attempting to get through a viewing of "Made for Each Other" made me cringe. The dialogue was superficial, the characters lifeless, and the situations drab and depressing. It seemed that the movie was going for a realistic portrayal of a couple in their first years of matrimony, but it failed miserably in this attempt. Although Stewart and Lombard are both talented actors, at no point during the picture did I ever really *CARE* about what happened to John and Jane Mason. Not only was the script flat and uninventive, but it never really showed what would make the couple fall in love in the first place. Furthermore, the "dramatic" turn of events toward the end of the movie were so cliched, they would easily lend themselves toward derisive laughter rather than tears. Frankly, this wouldn't even make a good "movie of the week."

Jimmy Stewart and Carole Lombard make an incredibly appealing couple, one whose everyday middle-class joys and sorrows you like sharing. That's all there is to the movie, pretty much, Jimmy and Carole get married, have a baby, deal with in-laws, money troubles, changes in their relationship, all the things everyone does. It's the opposite of an Action Flick, here domestic sorrows like pay cuts and not having a baby sitter on New Year's Eve are treated as seriously as real people treat them, and the movie is well made enough that you care. Who couldn't care about such nice, funny, sensitive people? For much of its length, it's a better "Penny Serenade".

The place where it falls apart is the ending, which is a ludicrously inappropriate melodrama about flying medicine in from thousands of miles away in a storm, it just doesn't belong in the same movie. But, I like the story behind it: Like a character in the movie, producer David Selznick's brother Myron (a power agent) was taken seriously ill, and was basically given up for dead. A doctor said that the only thing that could save him was a rare/experimental drug that wasn't available in LA, it had to be flown in from the east coast in terrible weather. The Selznick family sweated for hours, trying to keep in touch with a heroic pilot who was risking his life to save a stranger. When the pilot landed safely and Myron was saved, David Selznick the workaholic producer said "This it too good to waste on Myron. Let's put it in a picture!" I just wish he'd waited for a better place to use it.

James Stewart and Carole Lombard meet and marry on impulse while Stewart is in Boston on a case.

When they get back to New York the two of them go through a lot of the trials that newlyweds do, a seemingly unfeeling and uncomprehending boss, a bitter mother-in-law for Lombard, a new baby and then a sick toddler. I guess the fact that they get through it all is proof that they were indeed Made for Each Other.

Other reviewers have noted some similarities between It's A Wonderful Life and Penny Serenade. They are certainly there. What's not there is the screwball comedy that we remember Carole Lombard for. No laughs in this one, she plays this quite seriously and shows her versatility.

Stewart however is pure Stewart. It's as if Jefferson Smith had gone to law school instead of becoming a Boy Ranger. He's so idealistic and full of hope as he starts married life with Lombard. As he appeals to Charles Coburn for financial help to save his kid, the whole audience in the theaters must have felt along with him.

The two have some problems keeping household staff and when they find one they really like, their budget crunch forces them to let Louise Beavers go. Though it sure has some racial clichés in it, my favorite moment comes from Louise Beavers in that scene with Carole Lombard as Lombard tells her they will have to discharge her. Beavers is a woman with real heart and soul and her words of comfort to Lombard never fail to move me.

For fans of melodramatic soap opera and the two stars. Some may find Made for Each Other too saccharine, but I like it.

"Made for Each Other" is a drama about newlyweds roughing it out with some tough times. Even with stars James Stewart and Carole Lombard and a top supporting cast, this one bombed at the box office. It was a risk that David Selznick took that didn't work. Making serious family and love films about people having serious problems wasn't a wise thing to do during the Great Depression. Even though the country was pulling out of it with help from some of the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the world economy was still shaky and threats of war in Europe bode of more tough times ahead.

Perhaps a better screenplay and/or some changes in the story would have helped this film. It had the cast, but the characters, roles and script just didn't seem to settle right with the audiences of the day. And, one can say the same thing viewing it decades later and well into the 21st century. This wouldn't be considered a plus in either repertoire of Lombard or Stewart.

Louise Beavers stands out in her fine supporting role as the Mason's cook, Lily. Her couple of wise remarks about life are little touches of humor and warmth.

As a whole, this movie doesn't work at all. Different parts of the story jump around here and there and fail to form a cohesive piece -- the result of a poorly written script. For instance, halfway into the movie and you still get no idea of where it is all going. You get a vague sense that Johnny's (Jimmy Stewart) inability to support his family and the consequent strain on his relationship with his wife is part of the main plot, only to be completely thrown off by a new development in the story, which doesn't fit into the first portion of the film at all. It's almost like watching two different stories at the same time.

Despite this serious flaw, the film is "saved," so to speak, by its superb cast. Both Charles Coburn and Lucille Watson give their typical character portrayals. Jimmy Stewart gives his usual touching performance that is so well-known to film-goers. Meanwhile, Carole Lombard tries a hand at a dramatic role -- and succeeds. As a wife, she is charmingly believable, and as a mother, simply shines. Thus the unfortunate film is held together -- albeit weakly -- by the performance of the cast. Otherwise there isn't much that would convince one to keep watching. However, it may be worth your time if your main object is to enjoy the performance of either Jimmy Stewart or Carole Lombard, or both.