Some Like It Hot

"Some Like it Hot" is a very tough Bob Hope film to watch. In many of his films, he plays a roguish sort of guy...but an ultimately likable guy. But in "Some Like it Hot", he's not very likable and by the end of the film, he hasn't changed at all...yet, inexplicably, he gets some sort of happy ending.

Nicky (Hope) is a combination sideshow barker and agent for some very talented people who really DON'T need his help. Why? Because Nicky has a terrible reputation which he's richly earned as a liar. He lies CONSTANTLY...making it sound as if he's a big man while he's actually a failure. And, eventually, his client (Gene Krupa and his band) realizes they don't need him (they really DIDN'T need him). Along with Krupa and the band, a woman who is inexplicably devoted to Nicky leaves for greener pastures without Nicky.

Late in the film, you see that Nicky hasn't changed at all...other than he's a bigger and more pathetic liar than ever before! As for the rest, they are quite successful but somehow long for the 'good old days' when Nicky was their agent...even though he achieved NOTHING for them and lied every time he opened his mouth. Yet, despite all this, you are expected to pull for him and hope that Hope has a happy ending. As for me, I wanted to see him broken and miserable, as he seemed to have worked hard to do that to himself!

The bottom line is that you cannot write a movie where the main character is thoroughly unlikable but the story WANTS the audience to care about him. A huge misfire for Hope...a guy who made some genuinely funny films, though there's hardly a laugh in this one.