5/25/19 Irma La Douce

"Irma La Douce" is set in Paris. It is about a Police detective, Nestor, played by Jack Lemon, who falls for a prostitute Irma played by Shirley MacLaine. Irma, as the title indicates, adopts Nestor.

Jack Lemon usually plays the straight man reacting to someone else's actions. This is true in several Wilder films including "The Apartment", "The Fortune Cookie","Some Like it Hot", "Odd Couple", and "Aventi". For example, in "The Apartment", he trades leading his apartment for the promise of a better position the company. The problem is Lemon does not portray a character would would ever makes this deal and he does enjoy any of the reward from it. The result is a predictable character that everyone pushes around. The famous last line of the movie, where he is told to shut up indicates that he is still not controlling anything. In "Irma La Douce", it is different. He starts the action that gets him fired from the police. He is the one that comes up with the plan to get Irma off the streets. It is more effective to the movie when his own plan spirals out of control.

Shirley MacLaine has become to be known to play wacky eccentric characters. I have found many of them to be very lifeless characters. In "The Apartment", she plays a elevator operator who is the master of the small talking two minute conversations done while the elevator is moving. She does this very well. Jack Lemon's obsession with her is the typical movie convention is that she is the only woman in the whole movie. His attempts to start any connection with her are abruptly stoped with the opening of the elevator door. Now cut to a scene in a bar where MacLaine is a talking about her breakup with an married executive from the company. That part of the story always rang false. Her character did not portray itself to be interested in rich powerful men or someone who wanted a little excitement. Furthermore, the married executive character is so thin, it is hard to find anything that someone would find attractive. One can only shrug and say that love is blind and go from there. The problem is that the unbelievable relationship between MacLaine and the married executive play a major role in the movie. The viewer never gets to see any side of Maclaine character would be in any relationship.

In the beginning of "Irma La Douce", Maclaine character is shown to be indifferent. She is the only woman on the street not trying to attract men. She is prompted to make up stories by the men as to her situation. The men reaction is so predictable, she doesn't even watch the men leaving more money for her. Five minutes in and this character is way more interesting that the one in "The Apartment". When she first meets Jack Lemon's character, she immediately notices that he is different and someone who need protection. This grows into genuine affection for him. MacLaine does this beautifully while maintaining the strength of her own character. I love the idea that she takes pride in supporting her own man by working. It is a nice twist on the typical relationship at that time.

"Irma La Douce" is a little long. It clocks in at 2 and a half hours. I find it easily holds interest because the viewer it does not have a predictable plot. MacLaine's old guy could have a bigger part as the bad guy of the film but refreshingly he doesn't. Unlike "The Apartment" which is a simple "boy meets girl" which could have been a lot shorter. The writing is also outstanding. Lemon's characters picks up and repeats lines from other characters for his own purpose. In order to impersonate a British person, he says he saw a couple of movies. He then relates the plot of the movies back as his own experiences. It also has one of my favorite last lines of a movie.