Comparing Billy Wilder's The Front Page News to Howard Hawk's 'His Girl Friday' just seems unfair, but considering they are based on the same material, the comparison has to be made. While His Girl Friday has a perfect lyrical flow, Wilder's The Front Page feels more like comedic set pieces strung together by this rather shallow commentary on media. The film is very uneven from start to finish, with Wilder seemingly far too concerned with having a witty and fun script. It is quite funny, with Lemmon and Mathau doing their thing, but the film misses the opportunity to be a great deconstruction of cynicism as it relates to media, with the commentary instead coming off simply as superficial, feeling paper thin and under-developed. Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau are great, as always, and they do supply some great moments with their comedic timing but it's not enough for me to ignore the film's faults. The same could be said for the screenplay, which is indeed funny and has a few memorable lines, but I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed, with Wilder's screenplay lacking the overwhelming energy and quick-wit of His Girl Friday. Billy Wilder's The Front Page isn't a bad film per se, but a pretty forgettable one, tackling a subject that has been tackled much better in other, greater films.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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