We're Not Married

I am probably one of the very few people who actually does not like Marilyn Monroe. She can not act, and thankfully she is hardly even in this movie. Fans of hers, who are more than likely only watching this movie for her appearance, might find themselves a little dissapointed. But if those (many) fans, can accept that fact, and just watch it because it is a good movie, will hopefully find themselves enjoying it. Fans of the brilliant, and beautiful Ginger Rogers will be more than pleased though, since she has a great part in this movie.

Melvin Bush (Victor Moore) has been marrying couples, before his time has actually come, as to when he has the authority to do so. The five couples later find out, through a letter, that they are not legally married. Its mixed into different sections, one for each couple, and none of the stars really get a huge amount of screen-time. The couples are played by Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers; David Wayne and Marilyn Monroe; Paul Douglas and Eve Arden; Louis Calhern and Zsa Zsa Gabor; Eddie Bracken and Mitzi Gaynor.

All of the five sections are mostly amusing. Especially Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen, playing a couple of Radio hosts, who were married really just to get the job (and now completely hate each other). The radio show is made up, almost completely, of stupid sponsors, where they have to say the most scripted, and funny things you could come across in a scene such as this. This film is worthy to watch for their scene alone.

This DVD release from 20th Century Fox, as part of the Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection, has a brilliant transfer, and the sound is very clear, too. The fact that Marilyn Monroe is on the cover, is quite misleading, and Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, or maybe one of the other stars, would have been more realistic to have on the cover. I can accept the fact though, that she is on the cover, because it is part of Fox's Diamond Collection series. The extras is a dissapointment. That's one thing Fox never seem to bother too much with. I wish they would, since some deleted scenes would have been good to add, which I know they could have, aswell. But overall, its a good release.

We're Not Married is a star-studded comedy from 1952 that helped catapult Marilyn Monroe to stardom. Ginger Rogers gets top billing, but the spotlight is shared by just about everyone in this terrific cast. The premise of the movie centers around a rather scatterbrained, newly appointed (by his nephew the governor) justice of the peace who marries a number of couples immediately after receiving his formal letter on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, his appointment was not official until January 1, meaning that over two years later several couples from many walks of life suddenly discover that they are not legally married. The reaction of each couple to this news is, to say the least, quite varied. Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen play a popular morning show husband and wife team who get paid to sound like the happiest couple on earth, yet they no longer even speak to each other off the air; they treat the news at first as a miracle come true. Marilyn Monroe plays a beauty contestant who has to give up her newly-won crown of Mrs. Mississippi, much to the delight of her exceedingly domesticated husband (David Wayne). The Woodruffs (Paul Douglas and Eve Arden) are perhaps the most typical married couple, conversing about only the most mundane topics when they speak at all, and the husband cannot help but entertain thoughts of painting the town red once again with a different woman on his arm each night. The news arrives in the form of divine justice for wealthy businessman Freddie Melrose (Louis Calhern), whose gold-digging wife (Zsa Zsa Gabor) is planning on taking him for everything he's worth in divorce court. The most memorable couple by far have to be the Fishers, though. Willie Fisher (Eddie Bracken) is hit with two tons of bricks just as he is shipping out with his military unit: he and his wife are not legally married, and his beloved Patty (Mitzi Gaynor) is pregnant. The links he goes to in order to make sure his child will not be born out of legal wedlock are quite touching and make for a most satisfying, uplifting ending.

We're Not Married is a comedy that succeeds exceedingly well. The acting is superb all the way around, and some real truths about marriage are to be found within and among the laughter the film generates. Although Marilyn Monroe does not have one of the more significant roles in the film, her performance was impressive enough to land her face on the cover of Life magazine alongside a caption referring to her as the new talk of Hollywood. 1952 was the real breakout year for Marilyn, and this deeply amusing film has a lot to do with that fact. Do not watch it just for Marilyn, though, as We're Not Married is a great joy to watch in and of itself.

What a waste of a powerhouse cast! Dated, unfunny & plodding--for Monroe completists only.