My Man Godfrey

 Criterion is having a Carole Lombard special this month, so I decided to watch My Man Godfrey (1936). I'd heard the title often but knew nothing about the film. Billed as a "screwball comedy," it's a gently satirical farce that has something to say about class during the Depression. William Powell plays Godfrey, a character whom we first meet as a hobo living in a dump but who turns out to be a Boston Brahmin fallen on hard times. Carole Lombard is the air-headed socialite who gives him a job as the family butler and then falls for him. Her wacky family puts Godfrey through his paces as he does his best to be a good butler in the face of the mom's alcoholic ditziness, the dad's brusque straight-man struggles to be heard, and the older sister's sinister plots to get Godfrey fired because he has stood up to her shenanigans. A favorite character is the "protégé" Carlo, the musician hanger-on who munches on hors d'oeuvres, strikes poses against the window, and obediently acts like an ape when commanded by his lady boss. Godfrey is sexually harassed by Irene who acts like a spoiled child throughout. We're supposed to find her charming but I didn't like how stupid she is made out to be. Four out of five stars for the annoyance factor. The costumes are splendid, the script and acting are great--it's a lot of fun, but I can't put it among my favorites because of how infantile Irene is. Carole Lombard had been briefly married to Powell before the movie was made; he apparently insisted that they cast her when he was offered the role. She died in a plane crash along with her mother and her husband Clark Gable's best friend while returning from a war bonds tour.