The Major and the Minor

lol what the fuck

Once you get past the ridiculous setup that 31-year-old idol Ginger Rogers is believable as an 11YO schoolgirl...actually I never got used to it. I'll give Wilder the benefit of the doubt and try to find the clever dialogue and social commentary: at any age, girls are pined after with inappropriate age gaps. Hair guy/woman > Major/girl; even 16YO cadets and 11YO girl). Major has boundary issues from the start & never did transition well to love interest. Fav scene: Veronica Lake peek-a-boos.

Early Wilder is not without its charms, and his talent for breezy comedy was evident here, although it was developed to greater effect in the 50's and 60's when he made his career defining films. Rogers and Milland have obvious chemistry, even if the premise of their relationship would strike contemporary audiences as being rather creepy. Some surprisingly risque lines make it standout somewhat from other comedies of the time, but the ending is slapdash.

Very cute film, well-written and well-made. I'd rate it even higher, except that the average 21st century viewer will experience the relationship between the adult male and this "child" as creepy. Sigh. Times change.

I liked this quite a bit, but the ending felt like a cheat. I guess when there's no satisfactory way out you may as well pretend you were never written into a corner in the first place.

WTF?

Well this certainly can go in the "you can't make this anymore" category; If one can look past this outdated premise and doesn't think too long about what the two lead actually see in each other, this actually is a charming witty masquerade, a theme Wilder would return to frequently in his career, with a decent performance by Rogers and a show stealing one by Diana Lynn as the wise adolescent who instantly sees trough Susan disguise.

While it would obviously never be made today & has some questionable undertones, it's ultimately so effortlessly charming & cleverly written that it's pretty hard to not fall for it. The sheer suspension of disbelief required for the story to work should knock it down a notch, but it never really does- a lot of that probably comes down to Ginger Rogers doing a fantastic job as both a 12 year old & a 20-something. A solid cast, good humor, & a very well-written female lead make this worth seeing.

Viewed January 18, 2020.

87.50

Such a sweet little pedo story. We must have a modern remake! Looking past it's questionable and silly plot, Ginger Rogers is a delight. Then again, she always is. And this movie should praise itself lucky they got her for the part of a soon-to-be-12-year-old girl.

The premise is just so odd...

It works well as long as you don't think about it, but everything would be fucked up if it was shown from Kirby's perspective.

It was cute, hard to believe Ginger Rogers passing for 12 years old. A light-hearted and whimsical film, albeit a forgettable one.

87.500

Such a naughty, desperate -- everyone is trying to get laid or find a shoulder to lean on -- and amusing sex comedy about a soldier who wants to go to war at all cost, even if ends his relationship with a woman. Ginger Rogers, such a foxy actress -- her voice modulations are simply amazing --, embodies this teen who makes the soldier gets confused about his feelings -- she looks adult, but acts like a kid -- and is every little soldier's wet dream. Oh, and that lamp shot near the end is great.

A fun and entertaining film with marvelous performances from Ginger Roger and Ray Milland.

Ginger is obviously a genius (as she similarly demonstrated in Monkey Business)...and Milland is very good too. The Veronica Lake joke (among others) was quite funny ("I vant to be alone" lol).

A charming and funny film. Rogers and Milland are both excellent in this. I was also impressed at the sophistication with which they managed to make some pretty pervy stuff funny. At the same time the quantity of sexual harassment/assault jokes was a little bit over the top for me and those jokes stopped being funny pretty quickly. Points for letting Applegate at least egg a dude for harassing her--that's more than movies would do nowadays.

Written well enough (this is Billy Wilder, after all), but not remarkably acted or filmed. The joke is just too thin to base an entire movie around, and apart from a few moments it's not terribly funny.

It stretches verisimilitude to think Ginger Rogers could be mistaken for a young girl, but swallow that and there's some good laughs here.