Rachmaninoff is the sex indeed, no joke

The Seven Year Itch

But apparently it doesn’t work on a woman like Marilyn Monroe. I know that Pip thinks “Some like it hot” is somewhat shallow, stereotypical and preditacle, mainly due to Marilyn Monroe’s character. Now if that is the case, it’s even worse for “The Seven Year Itch”. It’s pretty obvious what is going to happen, and Marilyn Monroe’s character is pretty much the most oblivious woman in the world, I kind of feel sorry that she had to play these characters. How is it even possible that a… uh, misogynist movie like this can be such an incredible success?

I had fun watching this, but honestly, I was expecting much more from a Billy Wilder film. If “Sunset Boulevard” was the pinnacle of the characterization of a woman, “The Seven Year Itch” is pretty much… oh God it’s too awful. But apart from that, of course there were a bunch of funny scenes thanks to Tom Ewell, A little similar to John Cleese and Jack Lemmon, he just has this face that makes you want to laugh.

“I think you’re just delicate.” I think I preferred Marilyn Monroe’s passionate kisses from “Some like it hot” – this is just awkward. Nothing really happens in this film in general, and I felt strangely reminded of “La Peau Douce” (a Nouvelle Vague compared with Marilyn Monroe! Ahaha, I thought it wasn’t possible). The characters are somewhat boring and besides those great daydreams of the main character (a storytelling device I fully approve of, especially since those generate the most funny scenes), there is absolutely no sparkling between Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe. Again this is mainly because the latter does not behave like a woman, more like a male fantasy of the stupid blonde.

All in all, I figure Billy Wilder does a wonderful job at putting Marilyn Monroe’s sex appeal onto the screen and I am glad to have seen this, but if that is the main appeal of the film, I think you have a be a very big Wilder fan to really enjoy this somewhat out-dated film.