monamidnight

If you like romantic comedies, you can't do much better than the old Doris Day/Rock Hudson ones...at least if you remember to leave your feminism far, far, at the door. The basic concepts are all the same: Rock Hudson is a rake and a liar who wins over career-driven woman Doris Day by playing an innocent naif, and then the truth comes out, all hell breaks loose, and Rock realizes that Doris is an awesome, perfect woman and he's been a cad. They reconcile, eventually, but the journey is usually rocky and involves Doris shouting. If you think about it too hard, you want to smack people, but these are not movies to be overthought.

There's a general idea of a 'good' woman fixing a 'bad' man, but the movie doesn't take it too seriously, which makes me capable of enjoying it without wanting to throw things. And of course, Doris and Rock are endlessly charismatic, easy-going and sweet with wonderful chemistry. Tony Randall normally plays Rock's uptight BFF, and he is also just great. (If you recast these movies with other actors, you wouldn't have half the charm. It's very lightning-in-a-bottle, this stuff.) The color palettes and wardrobes are delightful, and Doris's hair is like a lovely gold halo in every shot, even when she's wearing the world's dumbest hats. IIRC, Rock ends up shirtless at least once every movie. (Doris also sings in almost every movie. Up to you whether that's a plus or a minus!)

If you're looking for a bit more depth in your movies, they're still worth checking out. There are lots of moments that could (or did) go in The Celluloid Closet, the wonderful documentary about coded gay content in Hollywood - Rock pretends to be gay in one movie and feigns doubt about his sexuality in another, Doris's secretary in Lover Come Back is pretty clearly coded as a lesbian, Tony Randall - and there's all sorts of interesting stuff to dig into about social and social roles. (Of course, Rock Hudson was gay and died of AIDS in 1985; his death was one of the events that brought AIDS to greater public attention.)

And they're funny. Dear heaven, are they funny sometimes. There are slapstick moments, silly moments, running gags, snappy dialogue. And Rock and Doris are just fun people to hang out with, even when they're being completely horrible.

TCM ran "Lover Come Back" recently, but my favorite is Pillow Talk.