Some Like It Hot (1959)

Set in 1929 Chicago, a saxophone player (Tony Curtis) and a double bass player (Jack Lemmon) witness the massacre of several men by a gangster (George Raft) and his henchman. In order to escape retribution from the gangsters, they disguise themselves as women in an all girl band heading to Florida. Directed by Billy Wilder, this classic is almost always hailed as one of the greatest comedies of all time. It's a reputation that's hard to live up to and while there are moments in the movie that are pure comedy genius, I find its humor erratic. For example, the whole yacht sequence with Curtis (doing Cary Grant) seducing Marilyn Monroe wears out its welcome very quickly but it goes on and on or at least seems to. For me, the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. Fortunately for us, the cast is beyond marvelous with Lemmon stealing the show and Monroe and Curtis showing us what star power can do. With Joe E. Brown (hilarious), Nehemiah Persoff, Joan Shawlee and Pat O'Brien.