... but it was funny--a nice diversion. This film featured six couples who end up sharing the honeymoon suite during the WWII housing shortage. Jane Wyman and Jack Carson are one of the couples who are married by a Justice of the Peace and end up at the hotel. Ann Sheridan and husband John Ridgely are the married couple who are currently staying in the honeymoon suite and have a hard time leaving when Wyman and Carson show up. Later, Alexis Smith and (real-life) husband Craig Stevens show up as an engaged couple who want to marry before Stevens leaves for his next military assignment. Eve Arden is a Soviet solider who just shows up (and maybe is staying in the room too? I don't know. There were so many people in there). Charles Ruggles rounds out the cast as Carson's boss, but later ends up as Wyman's boss.
Carson, who is supposed to be on his honeymoon with Wyman, refuses to stay in the suite because of all the extra people. Wyman's character, is a complete dim-wit and doormat. Sheridan and Smith walk all over her. It seems that the three ladies are also acquainted with one another, which is most likely the main reason why Wyman won't kick them out. Wyman's character, in my opinion, is the only sour note in the film, because her character is so irritating. She brags about her haircut to multiple people in the film and it's terrible. She has that matronly poodle cut hair style that so many women during the 1940s-1950s adopted which instantly aged them 10-15 years. Sheridan and Smith, while definitely wearing 1940s hairstyles, look much more sleek and sophisticated. Sheridan, Smith and Arden were my favorite characters in the film.
This movie was so frantic and had so many different characters and situations that at times, it was hard to follow what was going on. However, overall, it was funny and a great way to spend an hour and a half. This type of film fulfills the exact role I want from my movies: escapism. When I watch a movie, I want to be able to forget about all the awful things I heard/read about on the news that day. Even if it's not an absurd movie like The Doughgirls, and is something more serious like a noir, I am still able to escape. Noir films are so stylized that you're swept up into their world.
