“After You Shot Him, How Did You Feel Then?” “Hungry.”
All my life, I’d heard about Adam’s Rib, a classic courtroom comedy. Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure I’d find it enjoyable, but I’d heard enough good about it that I decided to give it a try. I fail to see the comedy.
Adam and Amanda Bonner (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) are married lawyers in New York City. While Adam is the assistant district attorney, Amanda has her own law practice. On this particular day, a new article has caught their attention. Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) has been arrested for shotting her husband and his lover (Tom Ewell and Jean Hagen). Amanda is quick to take Doris’s side, while Adam insists that the law should be followed.
Adam is dismayed when he arrives at work to find out that he’s been assigned the case since he knows it will create trouble at home. But he has no idea what is coming. When Amanda finds out, she takes Doris on as a client. What kind of problems will this lead to?
As I said, I didn’t find this movie that funny at all. Yes, some of the scenes worked for me. These were usually the scenes involving those who committed the crime. Amanda’s initial interview with Doris, for example, was funny. And pretty much any time they were in the courtroom, I found it funny. However, the scenes at home only provided a couple of laughs, and overall, they slowed things down. I didn’t time it, but I felt like we spent more time at home than the courtroom.
Then there’s the neighbor, played by David Wayne, who has an obvious crush on Amanda. I just found him irritating instead of funny.
Keep in mind that none of this is the actors’ faults. They were all wonderful. It was just that the humor in the script didn’t work for me at all.
Then there’s Amanda’s strategy in the courtroom. She doesn’t try to argue that Doris didn’t do it, but she takes this on as a women’s rights issues, insisting that Doris should be treated as if she were a man. Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I also believe that a woman should be treated just like a man. And I believe a man should have been locked up for what Doris did, so Doris should have been locked up, too. I know that wasn’t the response that anyone wanted us to have, so this part in the script just confused me.
Never mind that fact that Adam would never have been able to take the case to court with his wife on the defense side in real life.
Since the movie came out back in 1949, I’m not sure if it is a matter of age or if there is another reason the comedy didn’t work for me, but it certainly didn’t live up to the hype of one of the best comedies of all time. And, maybe there are some court cases I’m missing that help explain that part of Amanda’s argument as well.
So I recommend giving Adam’s Rib a miss. There are better comedies out there that are actually funny.
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