AFI Top 100: #61
Dark comedy and romantic comedy, while sharing the glaring element of humor, never seem to cross my mind when it comes to sharing space within a film. Especially in a film as old as this, the genres would have to work brilliantly together in order to get a certain message across and this is exactly what Preston Sturges succeeds at. Sullivan's Travels is an excellent, satirical film that combines an adorable, romantic story with a hard-hitting social relevance that 1941 needed. Although there are some issues with the tone of this story, Sturges was in a fantastic place with his great cast to carry this very entertaining comedy. And to top it all off, like many other films of this time, this movie is a great look into the politics and social classes of Hollywood, as well as how difficult it was to get started in that business back when it was booming. There is so much about this film to love and I absolutely adored how well it works as a social satire as well as being a (then) modern riff on Jonathan Swift's classic novel Gulliver's Travels.
Upon realizing that he has no prior knowledge with being low-class, filmmaker John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) decides to don homeless garb and go out on the road to experience being poor in order to know for certain when making his newest film. Along the way, he encounters a young girl (Veronica Lake) who joins him on his misadventures as they travel across the country and end up getting deeper than they bargained for. This film, written and directed by Preston Sturges, has an absolutely stellar script examining the life of lower-class people in America after the Great Depression. Checking your privilege might be a clichéd retort for many groups nowadays to use, but Sullivan's Travels perfectly embodies that. This film's dialogue is very quick a bit too on-the-nose for its own good, but I never felt like it was moving too fast: it actually helped characterize these people by using the flashy style and pace of the old Hollywood times. What this film does best, however, is utilize comedy to tell this story. The humor throughout this film is not only incredibly witty and quick but serves a purpose as well. Sturges could have easily made this a darker and more introspective look at the class system of the 1940s but instead uses lighthearted comedy for the audience to feel for the characters. I genuinely adored Sullivan and the girl by the end of this film and the path that Sturges takes us on is a highly emotional one. I was actually surprised at the level of humor Sturges and the cast were able to achieve and although McCrea and Lake apparently despised each other during filming, their chemistry was extraordinary. Sturges proves to be a master of making even some of the most pretentious people in Hollywood of the time likable and it also helped in making the audience root for him during his journey.
While Sturges's script remained consistently fantastic, I had just a little bit of issue with how his direction falters. The tone established right off the bat in this film is comedic and while I was not expecting that, it continued to improve. However, Sturges takes this movie in an almost completely different direction for its third act, drastically switching to dark drama. This tone could have worked for the whole movie but it just felt so out-of-place when it was thrown into the audience's faces. The film never really recovers after this tonal shift and even though it provided one of the best movie endings I have ever seen, Sturges' direction could have been a bit more concise. I did absolutely love the ending scene, however, and it is such a well-deserved finale for these characters after the lessons they have learned. This film really emphasizes the theme of redistribution of wealth in both emotional and physical ways and I was surprised at how socialist a lot of Sturges' values turned out to be. Sullivan's Travels not only excellently touches on the class system, but it gives us some hope that there are people out there who are able and willing to change for the better. The dialogue even mentions some of the film's themes in what may be considered too blatant, but I appreciated the intent. McCrea's performance as Sullivan throughout this movie was very stoic and solid, but the standout for me was Lake as the young girl. An actress new to Hollywood and discouraged by its reputation, Lake's portrayal of the girl was absolutely phenomenal. Her quick, comedic timing and agency made her such an interesting character and I could watch endless films of her as an actress playing an actress. I do wish that Sturges would have not written her off so much, as she doesn't even have a name, but she holds her own like no one else in the film.
Sullivan's Travels showcases its amazing writing through the performances from the entire cast, the music, and the comedy that pulses throughout its satirical body. Along with being a very romantic story of the time, there are so many elements in this film designed to please anyone and they are all directed together with ease by Sturges. I fell surprisingly in love with this movie and although some of its most dramatic points are too heavily accentuated, Sturges still does a great job getting his point across through a memorable and charming comedy.
My Rating: ★★★★½
No comments:
Post a Comment