Nice effects though.

Good concept, poorly executed.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It seems superfluous to add yet another five-star review to those already published, but "My Man Godfrey" is a movie that grows on you. I didn't like it all that much when I first viewed it. In fact, I felt that the movie was showing its age and did not shine as brightly as on its first release. "In fact," I wrote, "the pacing is often rather slow, especially in Lombard and Powell's later scenes, most of them shot by producer/director La Cava in sustained, boring takes. In fact, Gail Patrick survives better than Lombard. True, the movie opens very promisingly and the acting throughout is very capable, although it's worth noting that comedians Palette and Mowbray are used as straight men to feed witty comebacks to Powell. The sets and costumes are delightful, the photography superb!" As the copyright has expired, the movie is now available on many DVDs. For some odd reason, the cheapest ones are often superior in quality to the more expensive!

As a comedy from the era of the Great Depression, a bum found at the New York city dump, who had at one time been a man of means, becomes the butler of the filthy rich. The premise was made for comedy but William Powell (as Godfrey) and Carole Lombard (as Irene Bullock) gives the characters a human touch. When you look at Jimmy Steward in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", you never got past Steward as something like a cartoon character. With Powell, you see the human face of existence, the complexity of existence, at the whim of existence. Powell (as Godfrey) had been of means and gave up his fortune over the loss of a love, only to find himself by whimsical fate back in the lap of luxury all over again. And such is his disdain for this lap of luxury, he could end up in the dumps again.But there is more to the story than that. Each one of these actors knows by the standards of depression era society, they are the filthy rich, making phenomenal amounts of money they could never envision in their youth. Carole Lombard's salary was some $450,000 a year. That is filthy rich by any standard and certainly by the standard of the Great Depression. So these actors had a real sense of the whimsy of fate and how unequal and oftentimes unjust it can be.That Powell/Godfrey opens at the dump a fancy nightclub and names it "The Dump" suggests keen awareness of what this story is all about.Powell had the persona and acting skill to pull that sentience off on the screen as he recites lines written by Morrie Ryskind, lines based on a novel, "1101 Park Ave" by Eric Hatch. And these people/actors receive tons of money for essentially playing themselves. Such is fate.The film is great because of the ensemble cast, the talent of Powell and Lombard, and a topic about the whimsy of fate and how it can turn, and an expectation for a turn for the better by the end. While the ending may be hokum, it is delightful hokum. Powell gets the girl, and gets his wealth back.

MY MAN GODFREY in my opinion is not slapstick. Certainly a good comedy with a targeted theme. I think it is the former audience, considering the consequences of "the Great Depression", this issue really done good. Funny story in a relaxed and a great atmosphere is certainly a big hit.Moral and class are the two pillars that created the story. In the heart of the story to put „forgotten men" who in fact are not. Crazy and strange wealthy family that was not as bad as at first appears. The change in man is perhaps the essence. All are changing for the better. It seems to realize the true value. The cinematography is excellent, and in many ways we capture the high society.William Powell dominated as a butler Godfrey. It is very interesting that this character in the film has not been determined. Godfrey is certainly not the butler, much less the homeless, and the nearest is a rich man. I am delighted with his performance.Carole Lombard as Irene Bullock was loud and crazy. Lombard is his performance probably divided the audience. At times really irritating. She is a spoiled brat that knowledge has value. Goodness, love and perseverance are not bad qualities.Powell and Lombard! Marriage before the film, the chemistry in the movie .... profession. Divorce!?There are so many interesting characters and good performances in the film. Gail Patrick (Cornelia Bullock) It is very interesting naughty sister that in fact it is not. Eugene Palette (Alexander Bullock) He is the voice of reason that no one is listening. It's great.Interestingly, the climax of the film was eventually extended until the end after which the movie abruptly ends. This is how it should look like a complete movie. A crazy comedy with which everyone will laugh out loud and listen to reason.

Within the first five minutes of watching this film, I knew that it would go down in history as one of my very favorite movies. The classification of "Screwball Comedy" accurately describes nearly every aspect of this film. The cast of characters in this film did an incredibly good job in the roles that they were cast. Although I did not always understand the references that they made, I would expect nothing less as I did not grow up in the time period of which the movie is set. I would imagine that the set and the props are very realistic for the time period although I did not live during that time and therefore wouldn't know for sure that the inside of a house looked like that in the 1930's. The characters also had a very good on air personality and developed very realistic relationships with their co-stars which only added to the hilariousness of the film and made for a very pleasant viewing experience.