#93 - The Apartment

C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) has his future mapped out -- all he needs to do is cozy up to the top feeders in the corporate food chain. But his fast track to the executive suite gets short-circuited when he falls for one of the bosses' girlfriends. The Apartment features top-notch performances from Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning five, including Best Picture.

I think I've been mistaken about movies and life in general in the 1950s and 60s. I assumed that the American populous was more provincial, and that certain topics were taboo. I am beginning to learn that I'm just a naive, but still gorgeous *cough*, woman.

In this movie, Jack Lemmon lends out his apartment to married men who want to carry on affairs. Several men, in fact. This movie is pretty misogynistic, if you want to get down to brass tacks. These men are indeed married, and couldn't care less. And I think the women they are having affairs with are aware of it... or maybe they weren't, who the hell knows? But Shirley MacLaine, who was AMAZING in this film, knew that her boyfriend was married... her boyfriend being Jack Lemmon's boss, which of course leads them all to the apartment. Good gravy... I didn't believe that adultery existed before Bill Clinton, let alone that there were films all about it. Jeepers, am I out of touch.

At any rate, the movie was pretty good. The dialogue was terrific, and Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine are superb, really and truly. I'm no prude, promise, but the affairs being carried on in this apartment made me want to disinfect my sheets. Did Jack Lemmon's character REALLY not care that his apartment would have lit up like the 4th of July under fluorescent lighting? God forbid the CSI get ahold of him, he'd have some explaining to do.

At any rate, it's a good movie with a few good laughs. I'd give it 3 out of 5 bowls of popcorn and they're perfectly salted but with a touch too much butter. Whatever that means. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to sanitize my linens.