"Tom Dick and Harry" is one of the few films I've watched on DVD that I turned off about two-thirds of the way through. I went about doing something else and only returned to the film the next night to finish it. It truly was that boring. I've read the reviews of others. They seem split on liking and disliking this film. Some who enjoyed it saw it as screwball, but it doesn't come close – at least to the definition of screwball. The biggest thing it's missing is the laughter.
Some people may have found some warm humor in it because of Ginger Rogers's character, Janie. But where are the funny, witty lines? The script seems devoid of any clever dialog. The plot is simple and had possibilities. But, instead of clever dialog with some snappy and funny lines and situations, it has a plot that simply plods along. The character of Janie seems to be in a trance through most of the film – with considerable alcohol added toward the end.
The movie came out in June 1941. Europe was at war but the U.S. hadn't entered it yet. The economy had begun substantial recovery the year before, somewhat due to the war overseas. And, America was just coming out of a long depression and recovering from the Dust Bowl in the Plains States and Southwest. So, some audiences may have liked dreamy, fluffy stuff like this. Perhaps girls and young women enjoyed it most. If so, I doubt that that rapture lasted very long.
The only reason I give it four stars is for the cast and the credible performances of all. Rogers was OK in her near constant dreamy state, with few lines of any significance or humor. But this film has to rank toward the bottom of her movie repertoire. Burgess Meredith was good in his role as Harry. George Murphy was very good as Tom, and Alan Marshal was good as Dick.
I don't mind movies that are mostly fluff – if they have some entertainment value in music, song, dance or comedy. Unfortunately, "Tom Dick and Harry" has none of these. It's an easy movie to forget.
Some people may have found some warm humor in it because of Ginger Rogers's character, Janie. But where are the funny, witty lines? The script seems devoid of any clever dialog. The plot is simple and had possibilities. But, instead of clever dialog with some snappy and funny lines and situations, it has a plot that simply plods along. The character of Janie seems to be in a trance through most of the film – with considerable alcohol added toward the end.
The movie came out in June 1941. Europe was at war but the U.S. hadn't entered it yet. The economy had begun substantial recovery the year before, somewhat due to the war overseas. And, America was just coming out of a long depression and recovering from the Dust Bowl in the Plains States and Southwest. So, some audiences may have liked dreamy, fluffy stuff like this. Perhaps girls and young women enjoyed it most. If so, I doubt that that rapture lasted very long.
The only reason I give it four stars is for the cast and the credible performances of all. Rogers was OK in her near constant dreamy state, with few lines of any significance or humor. But this film has to rank toward the bottom of her movie repertoire. Burgess Meredith was good in his role as Harry. George Murphy was very good as Tom, and Alan Marshal was good as Dick.
I don't mind movies that are mostly fluff – if they have some entertainment value in music, song, dance or comedy. Unfortunately, "Tom Dick and Harry" has none of these. It's an easy movie to forget.