Too much of everything

How sad is this?

Boring

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie won 4 other Oscars-- including director and writer-- and a handful of nominations like nods to the 2 lead roles in Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays Mr. Baxter, a gullible schnook (his coworkers' words, not mine. Well... yeah, my words too) who can't say no to his superiors at the office. They borrow his key to the apartment, and they use it for their scandalous affairs; in return, Mr. Baxter keeps getting high recommendations which result in promotions. It's not exactly the lightest of fares, but a consistent script and an endlessly likable lead keep the comedic tone. The light-hearted tone mixed with egregious company behavior is seen in full swing on the elevators. Here, executives are quick to play off contact with the elevator girls that laugh it off; such is not the case with the respectable Mr. Baxter. He treats elevator girl Fran with care and shows genuine interest in her. It is indeed the makings of a rom-com, but the film actually gets quite melancholy. Mr. Baxter's boss Mr. Sheldrake finds out about the key, and it turns out he wants in on the action. Only, unbeknownst to Lemmon at the time, that action is supposed to be with Fran. There's an interaction that takes place halfway through the movie that, to me, shows the style of wit, character interaction, and overall mood of the film. Mr. Baxter is feeling down on his luck since it is New Year's Eve and everyone seems to be having the time of their life (including a coworker who has Baxter's apartment reserved for the night), and even though he is being promoted at a breakneck pace, he does not really have any companion to tell about-- now not even Fran. This leads him to a bar with quite an intoxicated woman whose husband is currently on the other side of the country. She tries striking up a conversation, asking about his family (he has none) and relationships (none). After his deadbeat attitude, she says, "Night like this, it sorta spooks you, walking into an empty apartment," to which Lemmon replies, "I said I had no family. I didn't say I had an empty apartment." It's not really laugh-out-loud kind of wit that we think of in today's sense, but it is just that clever twist in writing that tries to uplift a story that has its darker moments. This will not be the funniest comedy you see, but there are plenty of reasons to watch it. The story unfolds nicely, and I think the leads bring loads of charm to the screen. But really, the main quality brought about upon a viewing today is the level of nostalgia that comes along. The music is fitting but completely over the top, the dialogue is clever without pushing the envelope, the clothes and cars and elevators and lights all reek of 1960, and heck, it is a black and white film. There is inexplicably some joy of watching people have to twirl their fingers to dial each number to make a phone call, and I had the greatest time seeing the remote control Mr. Baxter had for his tv. For those of you that think old films are too slow-paced, unrelatable, too black and white, and simply not interesting, really take a look at this movie. The story is one of the most engaging, the characters are vibrant (and yes, a little old-timey), and you will ultimately leave the movie feeling better than before. I'm not really sure how stiff the competition was, but the Oscars for this film feel well-deserved. You hear about Casablanca and Citizen Kane and To Kill a Mockingbird and whatever else, but despite all the acclaim, you don't really hear about The Apartment. And I think that is a bit of a shame because this film should be right up there in being considered a classic. You can find this review and dozens more at gillipediamoviereviews.blogspot.com

When I first saw this movie I thought I liked it, but I watched it again and it was boring. The story was nothing special and I didn't find any humor. It seems very dated. I seem to find a lot of Billy Wilder's movies dated except Some Like It Hot, Sunset Blvd and Double Indemnity. I especially love Double Indemnity, but I found this slow and boring. I don't get the joke and I love comedy. Some Like it Hot has lots of laughs. Nothing very memorable seemed to happen during this one. Why is it so interesting that other people have affairs or dates in C.C. Baxter's apartment? What makes that so entertaining? I also don't understand the tone of this movie. Is it a romantic comedy? A drama? A situational comedy? Some of Billy Wilder's movies I understand why audiences enjoy and others I find boring. I also didn't get what was so funny about One, Two, Three. I liked Fortune Cookie and Front Page.

My local cinema does "Secret Movie Night" once a month, you just show up and watch a "classic" of their choosing, you just don't know what it is until it starts.One of the reasons that I enjoy this is that I end up viewing films that I might not, otherwise, choose to watch. Case in point is the selection for May - the 1960 Oscar winner for Best Picture, THE APARTMENT - a "love story" with some comedy and some dark dramatic moments and themes. A very tricky combination of items that are bundled together, brilliantly, by a master of the craft.THE APARTMENT tells the story of nebbish office worker C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon in an Oscar nominated performance, more on that later) who is talked into lending his apartment to higher-ups in his company so they can carry out extra-marital affairs. When one of the affairs goes wrong, Baxter is forced to "clean up the mess".Written and Directed by the GREAT Billy WIlder (SOME LIKE IT HOT, SUNSET BOULEVARD), The Apartment is more than a love story, more than a look into the vacuous lives of those anonymous office workers, it is a look into the lives of those who are victims of abuse of power. Wilder, rightfully so, won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Screenplay for this film. The Apartment is strongly written and directed not flinching at the deep subject matter while also balancing things out with moments of comedy and joy, turning what could have been a dour, dark subject into a more joyous exploration of true humanity and love rising through the corruption and abuse of power heaped upon them.In the lead role of CC Baxter, Lemmon is perfectly cast. Starting as a pure comedic character who is set upon by a world too strong for him, his character slowly turns sharper, deeper, more serious and more real as the film progresses. Lemmon was nominated for the Oscar for his performance - and rightfully so. I had to look up who beat him out for the statue and found out it was Burt Lancaster's powerhouse performance in ELMER GANTRY, so I can't really argue about this (but I digress).Matching Lemmon beat for beat is Shirley MacLaine, the wronged girl who's "issues" (I'm not going to spoil what happens, if you haven't seen this) are at the heart of this film - and at the heart of Lemmon's character. MacLaine is charming and tragic in this role and she, too, was nominated for an Oscar (for Best Actress losing to Elizabeth Taylor for Butterfield 8). Rounding out the cast was a pre-MY 3 SONS Fred MacMurray (as the Exec who abuses both Lemmon's and MacLaine's characters). He was terrific as this cad, and thought for sure that he would have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but that honor went to Jack Kruschen as Lemmon's neighbor in the apartment building where they both lived. I am fine with that but preferred MacMurray's performance. Also showing up are such great character actors as Ray Walston (MY FAVORITE MARTIAN), David Lewis (GENERAL HOSPITAL), Willard Waterman (THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE) and David White (Larry Tate in BEWITCHED) as other Execs using The Apartment for their purposes.This is a terrific motion picture and if you haven't seen it (or if you haven't seen it in quite sometime), I highly recommend you check it out (it is shown on the Turner Classic Movie channel on a fairly regular basis). It certainly shows a slice of life during the MAD MEN days that just doesn't exist anymore - and also presents a type of film, and a type of filmmaker, that just doesn't exist today.Letter Grade: A+10 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)

Maybe because I was born in 1975, but, I couldn't find what the appeal of this movie was supposed to be. The bosses are manipulative lowlifes, the alleged "hero" is a spineless coward, the women are treated like garbage...and this won FIVE Oscars, when it didn't even deserve to be nominated for even ONE? There is a serious case of Values Dissonance going on, since I can't imagine anything like what happened being allowed today, as lawsuits would be flying left and right. Avoid this overrated mess.