MY MAN GODFREY (1936)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy / Romance

Director: George La Cava

Cast: William Powell / Carole Lombard / Alice Brady

Plot

An eccentric family of socialites bring a “forgotten man” into their home and make him their butler, oblivious to the fact that he is in fact a man of wealth and position.

What I Liked

Filled with rapid fire banter that ricochets between the absurd and the poignant, “My Man Godfrey” must have seemed terribly relevant during the Great Depression.  At once screwball comedy and social satire, the film has some important points to make about the value of humanity in between its sharp quips and foolery.  Members of the well-to-do Bullock family are portrayed as self-consumed, naive, and sometimes downright stupid.  By contrast, the vagrants living in shanties built inside the city dump are possessed of comradery, practicality, and civility.  Godfrey, the wealthy businessman who has abandoned his money to live among the poor, bridges these two worlds when the Bullocks bring him in as their butler on the whim of their youngest daughter.  Through him, members of both classes are represented well to an extent and he is the most relateable character, the outsider looking in at the kooky, insular world of the Bullocks.  William Powell gives Godfrey both cool and maturity amid these busy characters and their ridiculous conflicts, helping the audience to relate.

What I Didn't Like

As much of a legend as Carole Lombard is, particularly for her screwball roles, I found her character so annoying and childish that she was utterly unlikable.  Though I understand that her character was supposed to be immature, both for the comedy and because it accents the lack of responsibility someone accustomed to getting their way might display, she was so loud and obnoxious that she served more as an irritant than comedic relief.  I found no reason for Godfrey to love her at all.

Indeed I found most of the Bullocks, with the possible exception of the father, either intolerable or unbelievable (Lombard's character falls under both categories).  I suppose this was the point, but I found myself really not caring what became of them.

In addition, the conclusion to all the conflicts and problems seems to come almost immediately.  Any suspense that may build from a financial crisis that the family hits is ruined when the problem is solved on the spot and the whole family comes to a ludicrous collective on-the-spot epiphany.  I realize it's all a comedy and not to be taken too seriously, but shouldn't one expect more reality from a film that clearly intends to deal with timely social problems?

Most Memorable Scene

Angelica Bullock, the oldest daughter of the family, played by Alice Brady, is the most interesting character in the family.  It is her character that goes through the greatest changes in the film, from conniving socialite to slightly less conniving socialite.  She initiates the most moving moment of the film, when she tries to frame Godfrey as a thief.  The act is done with such malice against an entirely innocent man that one is driven to completely despise Angelica and admire Godfrey for not taking seeking revenge.  This moment of course helps lead to Angelica's change of character.

My Rating: 3 out of 5