Irma la Douce (1963)

Lemmon is in top form as an ex-cop who falls in love with a prostitute, played exquisitly by Maclaine. Nonstop fun for all audiences with a script by Diamond and the direction of the always flawless Wilder. Based on a mid 60's musical, but the music is taken out here and is still done up with style and flavor. Lou Jacobi co-stars.

Fmovies: Although "Irma la Douce" can't quite compare to Wilder's greatest works, it's nonetheless an entertaining lightweight piece with ravishing photography, delightful performances, gorgeous set design, and a top-notch musical score. As a whole the film just isn't remarkable enough to reach the level of "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment", and it suffers from being needlessly drawn out. Lou Jacobi almost steals the show from Lemmon and MacLaine.

This film is Billy Wilder's rewriting of Alexandre Breffort's French musical farce. In 1960, David Merrick brought an English version of the piece to the United States. This Brechtian play concerned penniless law student Nestor le Fripe and his jealous love for his prostitute girl friend, Irma. He disguises himself as Monsieur Oscar and becomes her only client. When he becomes jealous of Oscar, he pretends to murder the fake client. He is assisted in this scheme by Bob, a bartender who also serves as a narrator of sorts.

Wilder keeps the basic idea of the play, but turns le Fripe, now Nestor Patou, into a policeman who falls for Irma. Bob becomes known as Moustache and Monnot's songs are used only for background music. In the leading roles, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi, Hershel Bernardi and Bruce Yarnell are as French as French fries. Wilder injects the farce with his usual cynical romanticism. The shame is that all of the leading players had musical comedy backgrounds and could have put across the musical numbers with style. Wilder did not have to use all 14 musical numbers, but 2 or 3 would have made the point. There is no reason why Jacobi could not have opened the film with "Valse Milieu". The "Dis-donc" number is almost performed by Shirley MacLaine in the film; why wasn't it done? Jack Lemmon could have crooned "Our Language of Love" to Shirley in the early bedroom scene. Maybe Wilder felt that the music would take the bite out the his film. It would have, but it would have made the film warmer. Thank goodness Wilder decided to include some silly slapstick to lighten the piece a bit.

When I first saw this film, I was disappointed in it, but after a few more viewings, it stands up well against Wilder's other cynical-romantic comedies of this era. And it is the only one in color!

Irma la Douce fmovies. Jack Lemon. What a natural. What an actor. Shirley MacLaine also very good. This film with all its convoluted twists and turns and knots and what not, has a beautiful love story at the center of it. It appears to be incredibly sweet, and touching, all the while supplying good comic relief, in particular with that bartender character and his insane anecdotes where he's been in every corner of the world and back, very good stuff - and the film does really well at developing lots of content in a plot that is fairly simple...

but - and there's a big but (and I cannot lie) - it lingers for too long to a point where the viewer is ready to indulge and buy into the film's surrealistic plot for a while... but then it exaggerates just too much and a growing sense of silliness starts spilling out of it. In that, it's also too long: nearly two hours and thirty minutes, for such a cute, light story there's no reason whatsoever for that length.

Could've been better as a shorter, more focused, less leaky story.

Good stuff still. 7/10.

Billy Wilder is remembered for "Some Like It Hot" but not this great Jack Lemmon/Shirley MacLaine comedy of a Paris cop falling in love with a prostitute. In many ways, it's funnier, and certainly risque. But tasteful and delightful overall.

Until recently, I had never seen this film in widescreen. But I loved this movie since I was 11 years old. It celebrates love and jealousy in ways that tickle. Moustache is the best reason to watch the film for his witty dialogue and comedic timing.

Fans of cameos should spot Bill Bixby and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand of Star Trek: TOS). I remember a time when I could tell you other things about this film, but that's another story!

So it's not the greatest Billy Wilder/Jack Lemmon comedy ever, but it's definitely a very amusing film with witty performances from Jack Lemmon and Shirly McLaine who prove here once again what a believable, great screen couple they make. The scene stealer in this one, though, is Lou Jacobi as Moustache, the hilarious and "wise" bartender across the street. The film loses some of its humor at somes places, but it really takes off the moment Jack becomes Lord X. The music is a great asset, too.