I was praying that this film would be as good as everyone said it was. My prayers were answered. In addition to being among the funniest films I have ever seen, Some Like It Hot also boasts wonderful musical numbers, great performances by Tony Curtis and especially Jack Lemmon (whom the producers originally wanted to replace with Frank Sinatra), and of course the inimitable Marilyn Monroe at her best. Here, I finally was able to see what was so great about her.

Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis play down-on-their-luck musicians in 1929 Chicago. They owe money to everyone they know, as well as every dancer in the chorus line at the speakeasy where they work for gangster George Raft, who plays an Al Capone clone. (For those of you who don't know his earlier films, you might recognize him from the Bugs Bunny gangster character who flips a coin incessantly and has the big dumb sidekick). The club is raided by the police on a tipoff from another gangster, and Raft vows revenge. He gets it during the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, when he and his henchmen kill the rat along with his associates. The only witnesses to the murder are Lemmon and Curtis, who were at the garage where the murder took place to borrow a friend's car. They escape, and to flee the clutches of Raft, they impersonate women and join an all-girl band which is traveling to Florida.

There, they meet Sugar, a heavy drinker who is on the run too—from sleazy male musicians. She and the two boys immediately hit it off, with Lemmon continually frustrated in his attempts to show her his "surprise," and Curtis falling in love with her. They arrive in Florida and he sets about seducing her, in the guise of the rich and brokenhearted heir to the Shell Oil empire. Meanwhile, Lemmon is having problems with an elderly rich man who wants him to become his sixth wife.

There are numerous scenes and lines of dialog that are justifiably great, such as the hilarious scene where Lemmon is tangoing with his "suitor" while Monroe is attempting to convince Curtis that he can love again, or when Lemmon describes Monroe's wiggly walk: "Look how she moves! That's just like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it's a whole different sex!" There were no slow moments in the entire film, something you can only say about a handful of movies. It is visually stunning, with Oscar-nominated Charles Lang behind the camera (this was one of his 18 nominations. He only won once, in 1934 for A Farewell to Arms). I wish I could watch it again for the first time.