150 Word Review: 'His Girl Friday' (1940)
You've got the brain of a pancake
Breaking news: the snappy rat-a-tat one-liners in this witty classic are as fresh as the day they danced out of the mouths of cutie pie quipsters Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.
His Girl Friday is a fast-paced, slap-happy satire about journalism that isn't too sentimental about the profession—Grant and Russell are hacks addicted to drama and exposing corruption. The other ink-stained wretches are, well, wretches. Here's the story: Hildy is a brilliant reporter getting remarried, but her ex, cynical newspaper editor Walter, has other plans. They don't still love each other, no, not at all. Meanwhile, across town, an innocent man is about to get hanged, and it's a juicy scoop.
Directed by Howard Hawks, His Girl Friday is a lemon drop of a farce starring two actors with a meth lab's worth of chemistry. There should be more romantic comedies where love wins but leaves a mess anyway.