You can almost hear the story conference; okay, we got these two actors who work well together, lotsa chemistry, lotsa laffs, all we need is a vehicle ... I know, let's make them lawyers. That works for me but what about the conflict ... hmmn that's a toughie ... wait, I got it ... they both take the same case, one defends, one prosecutes and this leads to trouble at home. Fantastic, they'll be beating a path to Loew's State when it goes on release. And so, between them, Ruth Gordon and husband Garson Kanin, with a little input from George Cukor, fashioned a screenplay they called Adam's Rib and they tailored it for Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and their prediction was right on the money, it cleaned up. Thing is, that was back in 1949 and here's Lea Fazer taking that same basic premise of two married lawyers and putting a little spin on it by having them compete for the same higher job within the company. Had she told it in straightforward style she might have had something, after all, it did all right 65 years ago, but she had to get fancy and start switching viewpoints. Okay, Alice Taglioni is great to look at, Thierry Thermitte never turns in a bad performance but that, alas, is not quite enough.
Review of What If...?
