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Rating: 5 out of 5
Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart. If you took out Hepburn, you would think I was talking about the famous American Civil War generals. Well, I’m not talking about them. I am talking about the absolute legends in the film industry: Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart. AFI ranked Hepburn as the #1 female legend ever in film history. Grant was ranked #2 while Stewart was ranked #3, respectfully, male legend ever in film history. What film would have all three of these iconic film legends in it? The answer to that question is The Philadelphia Story.
I have been watching films for a long time and wondered if some of these famous legends were in the same movie. With the luck of my question to watch the Academy Awards films, The Philadelphia Story comes through with Stewart winning the Academy Award for his role. I want you to know that classic films are the best films. No CGI or fancy special effects. It was all about the acting and story. Damn, I love the classics. The Philadelphia Story is a romantic comedy directed by George Cukor, with the film being based on the Broadway play of the same exact name by Philip Barry. I want to say that The Philadelphia Story is one of the best films, and I was pleasantly surprised and glad that I spent the time watching it. If you need more reasons to watch this film, the American Film Institute (AFI) released all these lists back in the day. Usually, the lists were the top 100. Well, The Philadelphia Story ranked #51 in 1998 for 100 movies, #15 for 100 Laughs, #44 for 100 Passions, and in 2007, went up seven spots to #44 for the reranking of 100 movies and was ranked #5 in the 10 Top 10 Romantic Comedy Films. That is some significant praise for this film.
The film revolves around a unique love triangle. The movie starts with Tracy Lord (Hepburn), a wealthy socialite, arguing with her husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant). The next scene shows a newspaper article announcing they are getting a divorce. Why did they get divorced? Was it cheating? Was it being addicted to drugs? Nope, Tracy divorces him because he did not measure up to her exact standards, along with him being an alcoholic and fear of him doing something bad. Sounds like a lot of what is going on today. Damn, it’s hard to find a meaningful relationship. Tracy quickly moves on and is about to be married to the “man of the people,” George Kittredge (Howard).
Things become good and complicated when Spy magazine publisher Sidney Kidd (Daniell) wants to cover the wedding and comes up with a scheme by enlisting Tracy’s ex-husband Dexter to introduce reporter Mike Connor (Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Hussey) as friends of the family so they can report on the wedding. TMZ back in the day, y’all. Tracy allows them to stay because she thinks her father is having an affair with a dancer, which causes some major resentment between father and daughter. As I said, it is all about the stories.
Dexter rolls back up in the house and is welcomed back like a conquering hero with open arms by Margaret and Dinah (Weidler), Tracy’s teenage sister. Tracy becomes smitten with Mike during the introductions, but Mike and Liz are an item. Do you sense what I’m sensing? We are about to have some save that drama for your mama action! Well, the night before the wedding. Tracy gets whit-girl wasted and takes a swim with Mike. They disappear into the woods, but George sees Mike carrying a drunk Tracy into the house afterward and immediately thinks she is cheating on him. Mike then rolls up to Dexter and starts complaining. He even offers Dexter a drink, but he declines. Dexter seems to clean up his act.
The next day, as Kevin Hart said, “It’s about to go down!” Tracy wakes up with a MASSIVE hangover, and George wants answers. Tracy gets mad and breaks off the engagement. When she realizes that all the guests have arrived, she panics. This is where things get a little crazy. Mike steps up and says he will marry her, but Liz is like, “What about me, fool?” Yet, Tracy says naw to Mike. Dexter returns and says he is still in love with Tracy, and the two get married.
I love the classics because this film was all about the story, drama and acting. The story, as you read, is funny and phenomenal. How each character interacts with each other through an evening is funny because you know the drama is about to happen in a way that feelings will get hurt, but love will come through. Every line that was delivered was done perfectly to leave a lasting effect on the characters.
The acting was terrific, fabulous, and fantastic. Let’s start off with the legendary queen of acting, Katherine Hepburn. I read that her career was on the decline before she snagged this role. It’s always interesting to hear a legend whose career was on the decline, and then they get a role to come back to the big time. Hepburn was BEAUTIFUL and sassy in this film. I loved every minute of it. She spoke her mind, but I got confused about her age. Was she supposed to be in her early or late twenties? It makes no difference because she was awesome.
Let’s talk about the lads. James Stewart won the Academy Award for Best Actor in this role. He was great in this role but there were other roles he should’ve won in that had a better impact (i.e. It’s a Wonderful Life and Harvey). Stewart is funny in the scene where he is drunk. His interaction during the party is hilarious, but he makes money with his interaction with Grant’s character. He is priceless at the end of the film when he steps to offer his chance to marry Tracy.
I was expecting more from Grant’s character. He was great, but he wasn’t in the movie that much. When he spoke with the characters, he had little to say, but he always had this smirk because everything was funny to him. It was probably because his character was off the sauce, and he saw how crazy everyone acted at the party.
The Philadelphia Story is one of those films you wouldn’t expect to be great unless you sit down and watch it. If I had never been on this Academy Award winning journey, I would’ve never watched it. I’m glad I did because the three prominent stars are phenomenal and fun to watch. The story is straightforward but does have the drama everyone loves. Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart are outstanding in their respective roles. Give this film a chance and watch why it is one of the greatest films ever made.
