Have loved a lot of Spencer Tracy's and Katharine Hepburn's performances and their pairing is deservedly widely considered one of the greatest pairings/collaborations in cinematic history. Can never get enough of seeing them together and it is not hard at all to see why it lasted for so long (all the way up to 1967 with Tracy's death). Also like to love quite a number of the films directed by George Stevens, 'Shane', 'A Place in the Sun' and 'Swing Time' in particular and remember being very fond of 'Penny Serenade'.
'Woman of the Year' is most notable for being the first pairing of Tracy and Hepburn. It is one well worth seeing, but to me it is not one of their best films and that they went onto much better things, my personal favourite of their films being 'Adam's Rib'. That it is one of their lesser films and still have a lot working and be mostly very good is testament to how the standard of their collaborations is generally so high. That 'Woman of the Year' is their first film together is the main interest point but it is far from the only one.
Any faults that 'Woman of the Year' has do not lie with Tracy and Hepburn. Both are superb in polar opposite roles, with Tracy being significantly more subtle yet always with immense appeal and Hepburn having the showier role and thrillingly throws herself into it. It is not often when polar opposites sparkle, thrill and entertain on film, the contrasting roles do all three here and one doesn't get it to this extent all the time. Tracy and Hepburn at this point work so well together, the wit and tension in their chemistry near-second to none in all their films together.
The supporting cast also fare very strongly, if not quite reaching the same level as Tracy and Hepburn. Hence why they tend to be overlooked and they shouldn't really be. Fay Bainter and William Bendix are especially fine. Stevens directs with adroit subtlety, while the snappy wit, poignant pathos and sharp sophistication of the script is to be admired, a lot of extremely funny moments and it is without emotion and relatability regardless of how of the time some of the material is. 'Woman of the Year' is well-made visually and Franz Waxman's score is lush and stirring without being overwrought.
For all those good points, 'Woman of the Year' is not without weaker elements. The tonal shift from comedy to melodrama is rather jarring and the second half does feel like a different film, one that's far from badly done but one that juxtaposed a bit too much tonally. The drama is poignant certainly but at times feels on the heavy side.
Apparent particularly in the adoption subplot, well intended but a bit out of place and draggy. Did get some amusement out of the ending, but it also felt on the contrived and abrupt sides.
In summary, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox
'Woman of the Year' is most notable for being the first pairing of Tracy and Hepburn. It is one well worth seeing, but to me it is not one of their best films and that they went onto much better things, my personal favourite of their films being 'Adam's Rib'. That it is one of their lesser films and still have a lot working and be mostly very good is testament to how the standard of their collaborations is generally so high. That 'Woman of the Year' is their first film together is the main interest point but it is far from the only one.
Any faults that 'Woman of the Year' has do not lie with Tracy and Hepburn. Both are superb in polar opposite roles, with Tracy being significantly more subtle yet always with immense appeal and Hepburn having the showier role and thrillingly throws herself into it. It is not often when polar opposites sparkle, thrill and entertain on film, the contrasting roles do all three here and one doesn't get it to this extent all the time. Tracy and Hepburn at this point work so well together, the wit and tension in their chemistry near-second to none in all their films together.
The supporting cast also fare very strongly, if not quite reaching the same level as Tracy and Hepburn. Hence why they tend to be overlooked and they shouldn't really be. Fay Bainter and William Bendix are especially fine. Stevens directs with adroit subtlety, while the snappy wit, poignant pathos and sharp sophistication of the script is to be admired, a lot of extremely funny moments and it is without emotion and relatability regardless of how of the time some of the material is. 'Woman of the Year' is well-made visually and Franz Waxman's score is lush and stirring without being overwrought.
For all those good points, 'Woman of the Year' is not without weaker elements. The tonal shift from comedy to melodrama is rather jarring and the second half does feel like a different film, one that's far from badly done but one that juxtaposed a bit too much tonally. The drama is poignant certainly but at times feels on the heavy side.
Apparent particularly in the adoption subplot, well intended but a bit out of place and draggy. Did get some amusement out of the ending, but it also felt on the contrived and abrupt sides.
In summary, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox