Just perfect...

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Yes, this is one of the best of the best. Yes, Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are geniuses under Leo McCarey's brilliant direction. However, has anyone else noticed the gay subplot at the beginning? We know Dunne's character is telling the truth about her "night out" with her music teacher, but equally we KNOW that Grant's character has been off misbehaving for the week prior. Doing what? When you next view this movie, look for the answer McCarey gives us in the careful positioning of Grant and his golfing buddy in the locker room and suddenly it is clear what Grant has been up to. Everyone writes about the "gay" banter and other sexual innuendos in "Bringing Up Baby," (my favorite is when Major Applegate is astride the Dutch door and Mrs. Random comments that he's too "big" for that) but I don't see any mention of the like here.

Irene Dunne is wonderful in "The Awful Truth" an actress largely forgotten today I beg movie lovers to watch this movie (and others she has dunne-ha ha) and maybe together we can resurrect her formidable career! I don't waste time on plot, lets talk about the highlights in this achingly funny film: Irene being tickled by Cary, Irene being forced to dance with oaf Ralph Bellamy, Irene passing herself off as Cary's trashy sister and singing the mildly risqué song "My dreams have gone with The Wind". Irene Dunne was delightful, delectable, dynamite and most important durable. She lasts! She sang superbly, acted effortlessly and danced with precision and panache. One of AFI's 25 greatest female stars lets affirm her legacy and make her viable again! Here are some of her other films I have seen: "Show Boat", "Roberta", "My Favorite Wife", "Love Affair". Musical, comedy, drama, heck she even tackled westerns ("Cimarron"). C'mon people! Make the next film you watch an Irene Dunne vehicle! This is Daniel at the movies. Till we meet again don't know where don't know when.

In general, Cary Grant comedies are not my favorites, and this offering is thus far my least favorite. Even the later "My Favorite Wife", despite it's plot problems, was a pleasure to watch compared to this turkey.During parts of the film, costar Irene Dunn reminded me in hair style, speech and mannerisms of Katharine Hepburn, say in "Bringing Up Baby", released the following year. The humor in that Grant film was miles more effective. Not sure if the title is supposed to relate to the plot? Is the point that there was no awful truth to be discovered, thus wrongly leading to the divorce. Never understood why it was so important for Cary's character to lie about going to Florida? The hint is that he went to California. Why? This only relates to the rest of the film in providing some reason for Dunn's character to wonder about his fidelity, eventually leading to divorce.

This movie reminded me of another Cary Grant-Irene Dunne team-up that came out a few years later, "My Favorite Wife". The situation between the principals was of a similar nature, and the supporting players in that movie sort of paralleled the ones here. For my money, I'd have to give the edge to this one, I thought it was a funnier film, with Irene Dunne's inspired performance as being the deciding factor.Director Leo McCarey is to be commended for encouraging his players to ad lib as much as possible during the shooting of the picture, much to the consternation of Grant, who was used to a more structured approach to film making. He was one of those actors who memorized his lines and got flustered with any deviation from the script. But things worked out once Grant got in the spirit of things and offered his own bit of improvisation. That chair flip at the DuValle's (Alexander D'Arcy) was a classic bit of tom foolery, and landed him in a most unusual position.For sheer lunacy, Lucy Warriner's (Dunne) impersonation of her husband's phony sister was the best, along with that 'Gone With the Wind' number which was a hoot and a half. How Lucy could have been attracted to a cornball guy like Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy) given her personality was a bit of a stretch, but no more so than Jerry (Grant) going for good old Dixie Belle (Joyce Compton). Those two rebounds would have been better taken on a basketball court.If you're in the mood for screwball comedy you can't go wrong with this one. It seems Grant and Dunne were naturals for this sort of pairing since they teamed up a handful of times in other films. Which makes me wonder why Grant, who was married five times, never hooked up with Irene Dunne for real considering their wonderful on screen chemistry.