The Awful Truth

An excellent comedy that blends laughs and heart. The final sequence at the cabin is simply sublime in this regard. Combining witty dialogue with an affection for the two leads, the scene works brilliantly as a capstone for this comic meditation on marriage. And I love the way the film repeats some of the same gags, placing them in different contexts to produce different results, all the while contributing to the same goal.

Damn, that's one sexy clock innuendo.

Great performance by the dog

Sheer brilliance. Irene Dunne and Cary Grant at their absolute best. I do feel sorry for the black cat who appears to have its paw superglued ( staple-gunned? ) to the door at the end ?!? Pure Joy !!

I found the ending to be kind of sexy, even though it only alluded to what would eventually happen by way of the clock and Dunne's acting. In fact, I'd say the ending and it's excellent execution alone account for a few points of the score. Otherwise, Dunne seems to be a good find for me as she was great in this film and Grant, of course, is great. I loved his scene with the guard who tripped him. Excellent chemistry between the two leads, though the other characters weren't great.

Between the primitive oil baron and the degenerate European, a lady of course takes the middle road with Cary Grant. Unusually sophisticated even for screwball (which only makes it funnier to hear them pronounce “Duvalle”), with great dialogue, a shrewd reference to Keatonʼs Sherlock Jr., and McCarey doing a surprisingly fine Lubitsch impression. I might have preferred a more cynical plus-ça-change ending, but drawing out their hesitation to the last moment was a good choice too.

Likely the most perfect final scene to a romantic comedy I've ever seen.

Too bad they don't make romcoms like this anymore.

The Awful Truth was in no way awful, but I didn't fall in love with it. Still a delightful screwball comedy with many clever and embarrassing moments. Cary Grant's impeccable timing is probable the best quality of this comedy. Irene Dunne's playful needs make for the hilarious bits. I enjoyed the cheesy moments with the new lovers best. Ralph Bellamy's dancing and singing skills are unmatched by anyone! Joyce Compton's Marilyn Monroe moment was ace! "Sister" Dunne also had it's crazy moments!

Honestly, it's pretty contrived and predictable, but it's still very enjoyable. Grant and Dunne are always nice, but the real props go to a simply undeniably enjoyable story.

One of the earliest true pearls of the genres (both romantic comedy and screwball comedy). A great influence on later classics (e.x. "Some like it hot"). Really enjoyed it.

One of the few screwball comedies I can get with, grounded with real characters and emotion. I can never tell which is exactly my favorite Cary Grant role but this is up there - Dunne & Bellamy balancing out the cast with their own distinctive style and talent.

One of those films that's consistently very good, but never quite great. Dunne and Grant have some nice chemistry going on and are flawed but incredibly likable characters. The script isn't the tightest around, but it consistently delivers great lines that work very well with the actors. The story is relatively standard but still very enjoyable, as is the film as a whole.

That one is really funny. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play hilarious.

A superb "comedy of remarriage" (as Stanley Cavell calls them), I far prefer this to BRINGING UP BABY, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT or even THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.

Screwball stunner in every sense -- from lavish production design to accommodate these weary, rich husband and wife who hate loving each other in their 90-day divorce to McCarey's extreme improvisational methods. Gotta love it's like a fresh new film starts every three minutes -- Mr. Smith as the greatest dog of all time, Jerry telling Lucy she'll love Oklahoma, bowler hat sequence, Jerry tickling her with a pencil, both having the time of their lives while taking a ride on police motorcycles.

This is a decent little rom-com but I don't really understand all of the high praise or the reputation this film has. To me, this was merely a mid-tier Cary Grant film.

Adorable & hilarious. The editing is bizarre in some places, but the comedy makes up for it. Never overly moralizing. The jokes were deliciously scathing.

Very likeable screwball comedy with Grant as charming as ever. Obviously broadly very predictable, as these movies generally are, but some of the details are surprising and fun. I didn't think it quite lived up to the quality of the best screwball comedies of the period, but it's very enjoyable. Early example of the Air Bud dog custody solution and I wonder if the "Wind" number didn't inspire the iconic Monroe moment in The Seven Year Itch.

Irene Dunne brings out the best in Cary Grant in this amusing farce.

Has a rather unusual take on marriage and divorce for its time. A curious mix of cynicism and frivolity performed in a charmingly playful register. Grant is his usual reliable self, delivering the mostly well written dialogue with panache and verve, and Banks' art deco sets add a touch of class. There isn't much to criticise here, and it ends on an unexpectedly strong note, but you really have to be a fan of the genre to understand its place in the film canon.

86.00

As always, a typical screwball comedy rushes through lest you say, "Wait. Why would....?" The antics here are generally fitting, even though it's amazing two people about to divorce keep running into each other. I laughed throughout, but now it's starting to become forgotten -- maybe it's because I liked the actors, but I never really liked the characters they portrayed.

A little daring for the Code era, and not the most insufferable of its line of screwball comedies, but still droningly talky and completely and utterly unfunny.

What a lifeless film. Maybe it's because the whole concept has been done so many times since, maybe it's the script, but this comedy rarely comes alive. The performances don't shine and the jokes fall flat. From the first scene to the last, it's very hard to care whether the bickering couple divorce or get back together.

It starts off weak but it continuously builds on its strengths to provide some solid laughs and sophisticated pathos throughout the middle and a surprisingly sexy denouement at the end. On another note, this film features some of the best costuming I've ever seen in a B&W film, with almost all of Dunne's outfits being absolutely stunning to watch in motion. Solid performances throughout, overall a well-aged screwball comedy.

When it comes to Truths, i prefer mine Unbelievable to Awful, but this was still cute. Also, possibly the most relentlessly passive-aggressive romantic comedy ever?

Revisited (2)

Notable as the first appearance, fully formed, of the classic Cary Grant persona; debonair, witty and graceful. Dunne, whose hair and wardrobe seem to morph dizzingly from scene to scene, is a good match for him. Quite good if you can tolerate the creakiness of the screwball comedy plot devices.

Lots of fun.

It's not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, but it gets a lot of mileage out of it's situational humor. Grant and Dunne have incredible chemistry, and Dunne in general really impressed me here. There's a surprising bit of sex and cynicism sprinkled throughout which plays to both of the actors' strengths. I don't think it's much of a standout comedy, but it is a very pleasant film.

Films like The Awful Truth present a blithe portrait of divorce. But like most of our vital comedies, it is rooted in the mystery of marriage and the desirability of two people's being together. Grant and Dunne do it here without a trace of neurosis of yearning. It's a professional relationship, like dancing, and it turns out brillianty, a film in which people chat for 92 minutes and every conceivable matter has been dealt with. That is one of the heights of optimism in American life and film.

I dunno... The Awful Truth is alright, but I'm just not a huge fan of Cary Grant's comedic films. They're just not particularly funny or engaging.

#347

Certainly worth watching if you like romantic comedies. I don't care for them myself, thus the low score. Joyce Compton has a scene where her dress is blown upward by a gust of air from her dancing platform, predating Marilyn Monroe by a couple of decades.

Cary Grant has quite a few rom-coms better than this one. Not bad, but pretty overrated.

One of the most charming films ever.

Ends up exactly where you think it will but that is half the fun of this movie. Grant is the man, I always enjoy watching that guy. He gives some of the best facial expressions ever. Great pacing and just the right length, a really enjoyable film. Check it out

This won an Oscar for best direction? Really? Grant and the cast are reasonably fun but this is far from one of the better screwballs I've seen. Overrated.

A flawless comedy. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are marvelous together. I know of no other comedy--with the possible exception of "Bringing Up Baby"--in which wittily written dialogue seems so improvised and natural.

322

Screwball comedy straight up. Delicious and hilarious.

watched: 2009, 2013, 2018

I hate these things. I hate these people. But I have to admit to smiling in places, and the aunt had fantastic wit.

A few funny scenes.

297

Good-natured enough, this was entertaining but unspectacular.

I've never been enamored with screwball comedy... I can usually take 'em or leave 'em, but this one was alright. I even LOL'ed a few times, including one of the funniest pratfalls I've ever seen. Irene Dunne's character takes a turn at the end that I thought was a little too malicious, it made me like her less. Otherwise, a solidly constructed comedy, but not one I'd return to.

McCarey's directing is solid as can be, keeping the sharp lines of Vina Delmar's script (adapted from Arthur Richman's play) pinging along with happy efficiency. It's one of those dashed and reconstructed marriages that made for such fine screwball fodder in those days, with Cary Grant bringing his relaxed expertise to the role of the husband. Irene Dunne is flat out sensational as the wronged wife, bringing unique spins to every line reading and simple reaction.

Way above average screwball comedy because of the great team of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.

# 264

Gag after gag and not one ever falls short thanks to brilliant performances from Grant, Dunne, and Bellamy.

Damn this is boring