Have you ever checked out a movie or play without knowing in advance that it was a musical? Now I have. Good thing I don't mind the upbeat, sporadically sung old-school variety.
The title does indeed refer to a book -- facetious in reality but treated as genuinely helpful herein. New York window washer J. Pierpont "Ponty" Finch (Robert Morse, looking remarkably like Jerry Lewis) picks it up and wastes no time getting a foot in the door of the nearest large yet ill-run corporation, the MacGuffin-producing World-Wide Wicket Company. He then wastes no time wheedling and fibbing his way up the ladder. His main obstacles: the jealous nephew (Anthony Teague) of the CEO (Rudy Vallee), the occasional competently savvy suit, the affections of scrupulous secretary Rosemary (Michele Lee), and the affections of temptress secretary Hedy (Maureen Arthur).
Despite the title, Finch doesn't always have an effortless time of it. He has to think on his feet a lot. I couldn't do what he does, even in the face of such gullible, incautious characters. At the same time, he's a fool in his own right for not reading the whole book before jumping in. He could have saved himself some trouble.
I understand that this adaptation of the play tones down what a jerk Finch is. Sure, he's not half the sensitive innocent Rosemary perceives, and it's dubious whether he'll actually contribute anything of value, but after a while, he's disinclined to throw people under the bus. I find him a little more likable than the protagonist of The Music Man, possibly because his victims seem more deserving.
Also reminiscent of TMM is <SPOILER ALERT> the not-so-moral ending. If you're waiting for Finch's inevitable downfall, it's no so inevitable after all. Rosemary even backs down from her threat to walk out on him if he doesn't do the honest thing for a change. I guess he's just that gifted in natural charisma.
Speaking of music, man, how is it? Well, I hadn't heard any of the songs before, nor do I remember them well now. More notable is the choreography -- not because they dance especially well under Bob Fosse, but because it's extra surreal in application on screen. A stage play wouldn't look too weird having everyone but the singer suddenly go rigid. Or having characters loudly sing what they're keeping secret from someone in obvious hearing range.
Even for more than 50 years ago, this movie seems old-fashioned. I'm not talking so much about the style of musical; it came out a year before Oliver!, after all. Rather, the type of silly, economically conscious humor seems more at home in the '30s or early '40s. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if The Hudsucker Proxy, designed to pay homage to the likes of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges, took several cues from HtSiBWRT. Pretty much the only thing late-'60s about it is the mild swearing and innuendo.
Furthermore, within the six years since the play came out, gender roles had changed to the point that you probably wouldn't see an office where all the women were secretaries. I'm undecided on whether the writing itself is sexist. On one hand, ditzy bombshell Hedy better suits the Marilyn Monroe era. OTOH, the rest of the women aren't like her, and at least the company takes sexual harassment seriously enough to transfer an exec to Venezuela (no doubt an even worse punishment today).
Regardless, if Chicago could enjoy a fair amount of success in 2002, then I think a remake of HtSiBWRT in the near future would stand a chance (don't harp on me for giving Hollywood ideas; they'd remake something anyway). For all its cheeriness, it does appeal to the cynicism common to modern audiences. And there may always be some base joy to be had in watching a fictional character achieve a dream rapidly and make it look simple.
HtSiBWRT did not amuse me greatly. It did not have me tapping my toes. But neither did it reduce the quality of my afternoon.
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