Review of Made for Each Other

This film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by John Cromwell doesn't have a very clear picture of what it is or what it wants to be. This movie was market as a romantic comedy, but it plays out more as a depressing melodrama movie about a newly-wedded, middle class couple, Jane (Carol Lombard) & John Mason (Jimmy Stewart). The couple are trying to survive the setbacks of life during the Great Depression. The acting is alright for the most part. Jimmy Stewart is just plain good ole' boy whom too weak to can't stand up for the boss. His weakness is a bit annoying; seeing how he can't even, have the courage to stand up against his hard of hearing, boss, Judge Joseph M. Doolittle (Charles Coburn) when it matters most. Jimmy Stewart's performance isn't anything new. Carol Lombard, known for her comedy roles, is just a supporting character with little to do, in the film. She spent most of the film, fighting with her mother in law (Lucile Watson) or her staff, then the other half, moping around. It's disappointment. Stewart and Lombard are married, but they just don't have any real magic on screen. The entertaining value of this film is very low, since the movie had very little humor. Lots of dialogue scenes with little to no charm. I was hoping for more, cleaver writing. I did like the 'going to bed' with shoes on, joke. The story is mostly a miss in melodrama value. This movie is no, 'The Grapes of Wrath'! It's really tries hard to show how the Great Depression is hurting them, but the middle class couple doesn't really don't have much set-backs. Losing maids and cooks, running out wine, dealing with snobby in-laws, and having a pay-cut, don't match up with the scale of losing a job, losing a home, starving, and being mistreated like hell like those of John Steinbeck's novel. Carol Lombard complains about not having a fur coat or going on a cruise ship. These are not really intense moments. The story kinda get lost, toward the end. It's become less about the couple, and more like a movie about a pilot trying to get a flu serum to New York City during a winter storm. It's almost felt like I was watching, a movie like 1995's Balto. According to an article in Life, the serum flying sequence in this film was based on an actual incident in which producer David O. Selznick attempted to have serum flown from New York for his critically ill brother Myron, who had pneumonia. Anyways, it felt like I was watching two different movies. Still, it was nice to see a cameo from Ward Bonds. The dying baby really comes out of nowhere. Yes, the movie does foreshadow a bit of it, when the mother tells the parents about how John Mason once got really sick as a child, but it really does seem forced as hell. For a family that living with setbacks, they were pretty well-off. They wasn't much to think the baby was sick. The whole dying baby is such a stupid Deus ex machina. The ending is kinda a cop out. Just remember, a dying baby will solve all your problems. The movie is so clichés, even for the time. There is the Magic black woman that comes out of nowhere to give heart and folksy wisdom to the main characters, and then disappears for the rest of the film. 'Never let the seeds stop you from enjoying the watermelon." While, Louise Beaver's advice about watermelons was pretty clever, it kinda racism. What's next, she will use fried chicken as a metaphor for divorce. The movie even mention characters that look like they might not big parts in this film, but never does show up like Eunice Dolittle. Just think, how much more conflict, the couple could had, if they honestly put her in the film. One thing, that could had made the film, maybe a little better was some music. Oscar Levant, in his autobiographical writings, states that he gave Selznick some musical material for this film, but he turn it down. The music, they did use were a bit overdone even for the 1930s such as 'Rock-a-baby" nursery rhythm to show that the baby was born. The movie isn't hard to find. The movie is in the public domain, when MGM didn't renew its copyrights. This means that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely or badly edited. Some of them might be in extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation of copies of the film. If you want to find it. Try to find the MGM's DVD on it. Its picture is well balance and smooth, and sound is alright for the most part. Overall: Despite a talented couple of stars and a few nice moments, I have to admit that the thing I felt most of the time, while watching this movie was simple boredom. This soap opera movie is very dull. If you want to watch it, go ahead, I won't stop you. Just note, it's no "It's a Wonderful Life".