Review: Pfffft!

Katherine Hepburn! Bah!
Spencer Tracy! Bah!

Overrated hacks! I can just hear them bragging now. "Oh, look we can carry a whole comedic scene with one take, no cuts, and be natural, sharp and very funny. Aren't we precious Pinky?"

Yes, yes, yes...Adam’s Rib is a classic. Not like a Disney film is a classic once it hits theatres, Adam's Rib has earned this title after surviving in the film world for over 50 years.

However, it is a classic with two flaws in my eyes. One is a minor thing that should, at best, be ignored. The film made back in the 40’s would’ve been pretty cutting edge for the time but almost 60 years later a few things play a little starchy. Like I said though...ignore that comment.

But the real glitch within the film is the character of Kip Lurie played by David Wayne. At the time it was only his second film and his character was annoying as hell. Now, I realize he is supposed to be annoying as hell...but not to the point where he becomes less a comic figure and actually brings a scene to a dead halt (the scene with the home movies).

What does still work in Adam’s Rib...in my eyes...aside from the always praised chemistry of Hepburn and Tracy is Jean Hagen as Beryl Caighn. Although she would go on to mainly be recognized as Lina Lamont in Singin’ In The Rain, it was just fun to see recognize her with her distinctive voice when she spoke, and as a side trivia note, this was her feature film debut. Not bad.

Also dated but still enjoyable to watch is the ‘married’ couple on trial within the film. Judy Holiday (Born Yesterday) and Tom Ewell (The Seven Year Itch) as the Attinger’s. The fact that the couple is dealt with as a not only a bickering duo but a warring one including throwing pots, punches complete with split lips seems less the subject of comedy than it is drama but there you go...

The real comedy of course, goes back to the already mentioned chemistry of Tracy and Hepburn. The court room scenes watching the duo exchange bars, looks and eventually blows between them as well is what makes this film still hold up as well as it does.

One last side note...all this great dialogue that does get spewed would not have been there without the great writing combo of husband and wife team Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. They also wrote another Tracy and Hepburn classic, Pat and Mike.

Final tally...3.5 stars out of 5. Losing one star for just the sheer annoyance of Kip’s character and a minor half star for the aging of the flick. I’m sure die hard fans will hate any of this reasoning but hell, they can go write their own reviews on their own site.

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Copyright© Written By: Rob Paul
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The DVD Review:
This is a bare bones version of the DVD, you get the movie and nothing else. Perhaps another version will come out someday down the line with some features but for now, this is a solid enough transfer, good clean sound and for fans of the film...well, hard to turn away a good classic when your a fan, isn't it?