The Awful Truth: Scandalous relatives can mess up your game

The Awful Truth: Scandalous relatives can mess up your game.

Just ask Elizabeth Bennet (Pride And Prejudice) or Jerry Warriner (The Awful Truth). There's is nothing like a relative making a bad impression.

In this scene, Jerry Warriner's soon-to-be ex-wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne), pretends to be his drunken sister in order to undermine his relationship with his fiancee and her family. It is my favorite scene in The Awful Truth. Lucy Warriner's dialogue is priceless! Samples:

"Saa-ayy, wait a minute. Don't anybody leave this room. I've lost my purse."

"I had three or four [drinks] before I got here, but they're beginning to wear off, and you know how that is. [Lucy to Jerry] Well, don't look at me like that. You like a little drink yourself. We call him him 'Jerry the Nipper.' He likes to sneak 'em when nobody's looking."

"[Singing] I used to dream about a cottage small, a cottage small by a waterfall, but I wound up with no home at all, my dreams have gone with the wind."

"I never could do that."

posted on YouTube by Countrygirltori24

"The Awful Truth" is awfully funny!

In Leo McCarey's 1937 screwball comedy, The Awful Truth, unresolved suspicions of affairs lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings. During the 60 days before the finalization of the divorce, the spouses try to undermine each other's attempts remarry.

 

Next week - His Girl Friday

The Awful Truth: I'm addicted to screwball comedies.

I am addicted to screwball comedies. There. I said it. Step 1 on the road to recovery.

1. I admit I am powerless over screwball comedies—that my movie queue has become unmanageable.

See, what had happened was .... it all started with the Thin Man series ... though some would argue that it is not true screwball .... whateva.

Then I saw Bringing Up Baby which led to His Girl Friday and The Awful Truth (I ♥ Cary Grant). All of which I found odd, but captivating.

After comparing the movie descriptions, I realized that they were considered screwball comedies. To me, a screwball comedy is somewhere between a farce and a romantic comedy. And at times, kinda like sophisticated slapstick.

"What goes on?" I don't normally like slapstickish movies. I must admit that I am not really sure what keeps me watching screwball comedies. They are like train wrecks. I know what's doing to happen, but I cannot look away.  Perhaps it is the combination of:

• Clever fast-paced dialog
• Reversal of traditional gender roles
• Comedy of error (I was paying attention in literature class)
• A ridiculous/unpredictable situation
• A smidgen of slapstick

Now my movie queue is all backed up. I must watch all of the other screwball comedies. I cannot help myself. Crack (slapstick) is wack. I know. I know.

Do you like (err ... love) screwball comedies?