La femme de l'année

No question that this is worth seeing, but it's hard not to conclude that it could have been better, perhaps a lot better. It has more than enough ingredients to make a fine movie: Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, interesting characters, and a story that holds possibilities for both drama and comedy. And it does have some great moments, but at other times it just does not ring true.

For the most part, the comedy works better than the drama. There are several funny scenes that make good use of the contrasts between Tess (Hepburn) and Sam (Tracy). But when it comes to the more serious parts of the story, it is often uncomfortable or at least unconvincing. You start off liking both characters, but then Sam becomes stubborn and almost petulant, and Tess becomes inconsistent and sometimes selfish. There are several worthwhile issues brought up regarding responsibilities and priorities, but you never feel as if they get a full hearing.

One particular thing that seems to fall short is the writing. It apparently won an award for the screenplay, but it's hard to see why. (Filling up screen time with characters speaking in foreign languages does not in itself make a good script.) The parts that work are usually carried by the cast, not by the writing. Just as one example, the scene at the baseball game is well-remembered and enjoyable, but when you think about it, the scene is carried by the actors - the dialogue is not very creative, and misses many of the possibilities in an interesting setting. Several other scenes could likewise have been improved with better dialogue.

Hepburn and Tracy are worth watching whenever they are together, and they plus a few good scenes make "Woman of the Year" worth seeing. But it misfires too often to be considered anything more than that. It does not fulfill the potential of its characters, their differences, and their dilemmas.