by: Rebeca Surber
Finding diamonds in the rough is a wonderful feeling, but in order to do so, you usually have to watch a lot of bad movies. Flix66.com takes the pain away by recommending a movie that you may have never heard of, or missed when it first came out.
One Valentine’s Day some of us gals were tired of feeling left out during the romantic holiday and decided it was time to figure out how to get a guy. Naturally we looked to the movies for inspiration. A few bottles of Boone’s Farm and several Google searches later we came across the Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe gem HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE. What a perfect ‘how to’ taught by iconic vixens! We were ready to learn. We weren’t, however, ready to be swept off our feet by this classic comedy and were thrilled when we were!
In this film, the gold-digging trio design a fool proof plan to land wealthy husbands. They rent a fully furnished apartment in a swanky part of New York to up the odds of meeting men with deep pockets. What they don’t consider is the plan taking longer than anticipated and that love and money might not coexist. Throughout their quest the fashionable dames (seriously awesome wardrobes in this flick) meet a variety of men ranging from dirt poor, filthy rich and the one random guy who sports a fake eye patch for no explained reason.
Loco Dempsey (Grable) plays up the sweet as can be bubbly airhead with theatrical perfection. With her sugar and spice attitude, she manages to get guys to buy her everything from groceries to furs and takes the time to introduce the hunks to her roommates Schatze Page (Bacall) and Pola Debevoise (Monroe). Bacall’s run as the haughty ringleader of the group is phenomenal, demanding attention in every scene. She is the pickiest out of the bunch dictating who each girl should date by setting the ground rules with things like “gentleman callers have got to wear a necktie”. We wrote that tip down for our Valentine’s induced quest for love. Bacall’s blunt attitude toward the men she dates or avoids dating is fun to watch; you never know what will come out of her mouth. She is steely and keeps her eye on the prize doing what she can to keep her distance from the one who makes her weak in the knees.
Having only been introduced to Monroe in posters of her dress blowing in the infamous scene from THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH or her breathy version of Happy Birthday, I was pleasantly surprised with her comedic timing. Her character is blind as a bat yet she refuses to wear her glasses fearing it will destroy any chance she has with a man creating some surprise slapstick moments that make her all the more endearing and loveable; she is a favorite of mine in this movie. Grable, Bacall and Monroe as a team are fantastic, each playing her part flawlessly.
From the opening orchestra scene to the closing credits we fell in love. This is the best single girls Valentine’s Day film. It is not overly sappy or heart wrenching but makes you happy and optimistic for love.
