Movie Monday: Monkey Business (1952)

It’s time to take a moment to laugh and celebrate a comedy this Movie Monday! If there is anyone who can master classic film comedy it is definitely Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers! Monkey Business is a funny and adorable film from what could be expressed as the typical 50’s style comedy.

In Monkey Business Grant brings back the coke bottle glasses he wore in Bringing Up Baby and his comedic skills. This isn’t the same style of comedy he used in some other movies, though, like Arsenic and Old Lace. Monkey Business shows us an older more mature side of Cary Grant until it doesn’t and everything just begins to break loose.

While searching for what seems to be a love potion, Grant accidentally creates a serum that makes people act childish and reverts them back to their elementary school days. Well, from here you can probably already see the humor take shape. The antics the occur when someone is under the influence of anything, let alone a serum that makes them no longer act as an adult, is ripe with comedy.

Monkey Business is a decidedly older feeling film for Ginger Rogers, too. In this movie she is no longer the young dancing partner of Fred Astaire. Here is an established actress of her own right, and one that can do both comedy and drama. There are many moments in this film where her is the jokester and Grant is the straight guy which typically wasn’t the case in Grant’s older comedic films. In this role Rogers really proved she could carry the weight of being strictly an actress without any dancing scenes.

Honestly, Monkey Business isn’t the funniest or best film of the 1950’s, but it definitely should not be forgotten. The iconic moments of this film and the ridiculous nature is what makes it so funny. It also captures a moment in time, the 50’s were an interesting time for comedy and for films. Television was discovering sitcoms and movies were becoming more dramatic. Either way, Monkey Business is definitely a fun(ny) movie to watch.

Much Love,

Sarah