Come Live With Me

Starring: James Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, Ian Hunter
Directed by: Clarence Brown
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1941

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:A down-on-his-luck man (James Stewart) marries a rich foreigner (Hedy Lamarr) to keep her from being deported, in exchange for a weekly allowance. He begins to fall in love with her, which complicates matters because she is in love with another man.

Review:

Tim: This was a pretty decent romantic comedy. While it doesn't pack the much-needed emotional punch, the film will at least keep you entertained and interested. The biggest problem with the film is that it is just not memorable enough. It doesn't offer enough to distinguish itself from the other similar movies out there.

The cast all give good performances. James Stewart is enjoyable to watch, even if he isn't completely memorable. He is somewhat constrained by the script. There just isn't enough in the character to allow him to really connect to the audience. Even shackled by the script, Stewart still manages to be somewhat charismatic. Hedy Lamarr gives a good performance as well, and adds in a good supporting performance.

The plot gets progressively complex, as the characters find themselves in some strange situations. While this could have been played up for laughs, but the movie instead focuses on the more dramatic and romantic side to the odd predicaments these characters get themselves into.

Come Live With Me derives its title from an excellent Christopher Marlowe poem, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (which begins, "Come live with me and be my love"). This is an appropriate title, because the plot takes us back to the Shakespearean play days of England. To be fair, while decent, this film can't hold up a candle to the writings of Shakespeare. Still, it's fairly enjoyable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Zigfeld Girl, The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, The Glenn Miller Story