Courting the Casanova (Love in the Afternoon)

Billy Wilder's salutation to his idol, Ernst Lubitsch, is a cleverly packaged romantic comedy with all the pretty trappings of Paris. High society soirees, elegant costumes, dashing men and attractive women. Add a dollop of the most witty repartee, dexterously contrived hilarious situations and intelligent humour and you have Love in the Afternoon. This is a celebration of magical Paris, the flamboyance of Gary Cooper, the warmth of Maurice Chevalier and the waif-like gorgeousness of Audrey Hepburn. 
I chanced upon this 1957 masterpiece while reading up on the Hepburn girl. I like calling her so because their is a kind of nubile innocence about her in all her films. Her elfin presence gives her a Cherubic air and when she talks it sounds like the childish prattle of a woman who is still a teenager. Her bob bounces around her sweet face, complementing her round slanted eyes and accentuating that ravishing jawline. Yes, I'm very fond of the cute Hepburn girl. Doubling my fascination for this woman is her fine British accent; she opens her mouth well and round when she talks, pronouncing each and every word like it should be. It's a joy listening to her prattle!

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Drag queen (Tootsie)

When it comes to drag comedies, one thing's sure. Farcical wig-flipping laughter that is OTT sometimes, yet a whole lot of fun. I've been in splits watching the goofy antics of Joe and Jerry in Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot (1959) as well as Armand and Albert in Mike Nichols' The Birdcage (1996). The recent entrant to this comedy list of mine is Sydney Pollack's Tootsie (1982), a film I've heard only good things about. It stars Dustin Hoffman, who redefines versatility with every role, Jessica Lange, who I always thought oozed raw sex appeal and the straight-faced Bill Murray (one of my favourites) whose very face is enough to induce laughter.

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Duplicity (Some Like it Hot)

Okay, pop quiz. What do Rishi Kapoor and Tony Curtis have in common? Apart from great looks, rivetting performances and sexy voices. Well, here goes. Kapoor's Dev was a duplication of Curtis' Joe in the 1975 film Rafoo Chakkar. Inspired by the 1959 classic, Some Like it Hot, this film was a typical Bollywood masala flick. Only, where the Hollywood comedy trumped, the Hindi cousin bungled...it lacked a soul.
Both films did well but collections don't always mirror good art, or do they? Here's why I vote for the Curtis-Monroe roller-coaster rather than its Hindi cousin.
First things first.

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