The Awful Truth

Starring: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Alexander D'Arcy, Cecil Cunningham
Directed by: Leo McCarey
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1937

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An unhappy couple (Irene Dunne, Cary Grant) agree to divorce proceedings. While they wait for the divorce to be finalized, they begin dating other people. However, they can't seem to escape each others' lives, and still feel some attraction for the other.

Review:

Tim: I thought Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth was a fairly good movie, but I'm a bit surprised it is so well liked. The film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, but it only picked up 1. This is indeed a funny, entertaining movie, but I thought it had some serious limitations as well. While I enjoyed the film, I'm definitely not as big of a fan as many people.

The subject, though, is certainly interesting. We meet an unhappy couple played by Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. They decide to get a divorce, but can't seem to get out of each others' lives while it finalizes. The whole thing is cute, but it's incredibly predictable- wouldn't you automatically assume they fall back in love and get together in the end? The whole film felt like we were waiting for the inevitable.

I thought the performances were good, but not great. I admit Irene Dunne did a good job of acting, but I just couldn't get excited about her performance. It was serviceable, but she never made me feel connected to her character. I never cared about her. The exact same thing can be said about Cary Grant. While not one of his better performances, he was charming and funny and mostly enjoyable. However, I was never given a reason to care on any kind of emotional level about him or his relationship with Dunne. This was the central issue with the film for me. Dunne received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, which surprised me a bit. Grant received nothing.

I though Ralph Bellamy was fine in his supporting role as a dimwitted cowboy-type. I didn't love his performance, either, but he added some comic relief in a sweet, gullible way. I'm surprised he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but I suppose this was the kind of humorous small role that the Academy enjoyed in the 30's.

I've read that director Leo McCarey allowed a great deal of improvisation each day on the set. That's how this film felt to me- unpolished, improvised. Sometimes that's really good and adds to a film. Sometimes, like in this case, it just didn't feel like the film maximized the time it had. I wanted a more effective, focused story. What's funny is that the only Academy Award this film did win was Best Director for Leo McCarey. I can't say I am fully in support of this, but I admit McCarthy put together an enjoyable film. I personally wouldn't have given him the Oscar, but I'm not in the Academy.

I really expected to like The Awful Truth more than I did. I know why I didn't, although it seems like the flaws I saw weren't shared by many critics and viewers out there. I've seen enough movies to be perfectly comfortable having a contrarian viewpoint on occasion. This film was good, but it'll never be one I return to again and again.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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