A Barrel of Laughs and Monkeys: Monkey Business (1952)

             One day in the early '50s, Howard Hawks woke up and thought "What if I made Bringing Up Baby but with monkeys and an actual baby?" And just like that, Monkey Business was born.

            Well, I don't know if that's how it really went. But in the realm of animal-driven screwball comedies, Monkey Business tends to be overshadowed. Maybe it wasn't as influential as, say, Bringing Up Baby, but it's sure a barrel of laughs (and monkeys). Just take a look at the cast:

            I may be biased, but that's a pretty incredible cast. There's Cary Grant - arguably one of Old Hollywood's top screwball comedy stars (see above). There's Ginger Rogers - a top-notch comedic actress, with a knack for screwball as seen in films like Carefree. And there's Marilyn Monroe in an early film appearance! Don't be misled by the advertisements or IMDB reviews - Monkey Business is not really a Marilyn Monroe film. True, you can tell she's on her way to stardom, and the film certainly boosted her growing career. But this is at heart a "dumb blonde" role, the kind Marilyn was too often pigeonholed into. Ironic, because she was a very smart woman - and a natural brunette.

             Funnily enough, the Monkey Business cast wasn't always going to look this way. Danny Kaye was originally considered for Cary Grant's role, and Ava Gardner for Ginger Rogers's.

             Howard Hawks didn't want to work with Ginger Rogers - by some accounts, she was "forced on him by the studio" - and made a big fuss about how she was the oldest actress he'd ever directed. She was 40. More irony, because Monkey Business is a film about people obsessed with staying young and finding a fountain of youth. If anyone had a fountain of youth, it was Ginger, who appeared ageless well into her 60s. The same cannot be said of Howard Hawks.

            About that fountain of youth. The movie centers around a scientist, Barnaby Fulton, and his wife Edwina (Cary and Ginger). You can tell by the names that Howard Hawks wanted to be taken seriously (just kidding).  Barnaby is searching for an elixir to make people young again, and he has a weird old boss who thinks this is a great moneymaking idea. The boss is Oliver Oxley (Charles Coburn), old because Charles Coburn was 75 in this movie and weird because, well, you'll see. 

            Along with many bubbling chemical mixtures, Dr. Fulton has a bunch of monkeys in his laboratory. Literally. There's cages of chimpanzees along the wall, and they like to escape and cause chaos around the lab.

             One of them, named Esther, manages to get out and mix an elixir of youth formula - those darn monkeys - and pour it into the water cooler, as one does. The bumbling Barnaby tries his newest mixture, and follows it with a drink from the elixir-filled water cooler. Eureka! His brain rewinds until mentally, Dr. Fulton is a college boy. So he goes off to do college boy things, like get a strange haircut and buy a sports car. Then he takes his boss's pretty secretary, Lois Laurel (Marilyn Monroe) out for a drive in said sports car. There are some innuendoes about motors ("Is the motor running?" "Is yours?"), a hilarious trip to the roller rink, and a swim in the pool.

            Yes, Marilyn is funny in these scenes, and she definitely makes them better. Do I think she was a scene-stealer? Not yet.

            Barnaby comes back and Edwina is obviously concerned - with his haircut, the expensive car, and the fact that there's lipstick on his cheek that isn't hers. She eventually discovers he must have found a working youth elixir. She tries some herself, and then drinks from the magic water cooler. Edwina has even more than Barnaby, causing her to go back even further into childhood. 

            Soon enough, Edwina is acting like a young schoolgirl. Her relationship with Barnaby becomes the equivalent of a kindergarten playground marriage: you're in love until you fight, and then it's over.

            Originally, Howard Hawks only planned for Cary Grant's character to drink the elixir. According to Hawks, Ginger Rogers "insisted" on doing the child-acting too, and the script was revised. This makes her seem like some sort of diva. Of course she "insisted"! Without Ginger's little kid scenes, her screen time would be next to nothing - and her role reduced to that of the jealous wife. In my opinion, her "younger" scenes are among the best in the movie. Is it ridiculous for a grown actress to play a child? Yes! But Ginger knew it and used that to her advantage. You can laugh at her because she laughs at herself. That's what makes her such a great comedic actress - she's always in on the joke.

            Other comedic highlights of Monkey Business:

            "I'm calling Hank Entwhistle!" When Edwina fights with Barnaby, she gets all angry and calls her lawyer (aka her ex-boyfriend) Hank Entwhistle. Hank, who has no idea about the elixir, assumes she's serious and wants a divorce. My sister and I like to quote this line and stomp dramatically around the house.

            Cary Grant falling down a laundry chute. The truth is, any movie where people slide down a laundry chute is a good one. Edwina makes Barnaby bring her to the hotel where they honeymooned, because the elixir takes her mind back to their wedding night. After a series of misunderstandings, and blind without his glasses, Barnaby falls straight into the hotel laundry chute.

            "I'll pull that blonde hair out by its black roots!" Some of Edwina's best one-liners come when she's attacking Lois. This is funnier once you consider that again, neither Marilyn nor Ginger were natural blondes.

            The baby. At one point, Edwina finds a baby next to Barnaby's clothes and assumes he's had so much elixir that he's gone back to childhood. She picks up the baby and carries it around, talking to it as if it were her husband.

             Paint fight scene. Aka, kid Edwina wants to play, but kid Barnaby doesn't, and they start flinging paint at each other. "I'm calling Hank Entwhistle!"

             If you couldn't tell by any of these examples, Monkey Business is a hilarious film. You just have to approach it with the right mindset. Howard Hawks thought the film wasn't successful because it wasn't believable, and in some respects he's right. You can't watch Monkey Business and point at the screen saying "That wouldn't happen!" for two reasons: you won't enjoy it, and your arm will hurt from pointing so much. 

            Is it a dated movie? For sure. It's easy to cringe at moments like Barnaby playing "Cowboys and Indians" with the neighborhood kids, or when Mr. Oxley is obviously eyeing his secretary (I told you he was weird). For most historians, the screwball era was already over by the '50s, so it seems like an attempted throwback that never quite lands. If you put all that aside, you have a really fun film. Cary Grant is his wonderful nerdy-scientist self, Ginger Rogers does her most adorable Major and the Minor-style kid impression, and Marilyn Monroe shows lots of promise comedically and career-wise. The combination of talent works perfectly, especially when Cary and Ginger are playing kids. And when they're adults, they have perfect chemistry (take that, Howard Hawks). It's a crime that we only have two Cary/Ginger movies.

            So, go watch Monkey Business! You're guaranteed to laugh (unless you have no sense of humor) and you're guaranteed to enjoy yourself (unless you're really boring, but if you're into classic movies, chances are you're not boring).

            This is my contribution to the Classic Movie Blog Association's fall blogathon, "Laughter is the Best Medicine." Sorry for the late-ish post - dealing with technical difficulties, and high school. Thanks for reading!