It can be hard sometimes to review these romantic comedies from 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, as so much has changed – the culture, the way we treat women, how women are portrayed in movies… This movie fascinated me in this regard, as this might be one of the few movies, that has these issues, but at the same time, is surprisingly feminist…?
That Touch of Mink is currently rated on IMDb 6.7/10 and I don’t understand that at all. This movie worked for me story-wise (didn’t feel bored) and comedy-wise (got a surprising amount of laughter while watching it). To me, that’s the “riskiest” thing about these old movies.
Plenty of times you are watching an old Hollywood comedy from “the golden days”, you know where you should laugh, but you barely chuckle, as unfortunately plenty of jokes will get “old”, or the way they constructed that particular line doesn’t work anymore, or it’s been done to death etc., which is strange blaming a movie for not being “future proof”, but at the same time, you know what works and what doesn’t. This movie worked for me.
You can tell Cary Grant was getting there when comes to age (he was almost 60), if he didn’t have the charm and charisma he unquestionably had, it would’ve played much sleazier. Doris Day was charming and her character was truly puzzling me for most of them movie – the main thing about this movie is the fact she’s fallen for Cary Grant, as you do, and she’s too keen on being “the good woman” for him, but at the same time, when he “rejects” her, she is insisting on paying him back, returning everything he’s purchased for her, making something out of herself, not wanting any for free…
That’s why this movie fascinated me – on one hand it’s definitely product of its time (where woman struggles with doing everything she can to please her man) but at the same time, she’s not submissive by any means, she wants and does fend for herself. Also, making Cary Grant being the most generous person ever, where he threatens his employees with pay rises, was a welcomed decision that added to the overall enjoyment of this movie.
Also, the subplot of Gig Young being on the verge of nervous breakdown, where he doesn’t have any worries at all, and that’s what worries him, is fairly hilarious. Plus the whole thing with his psychiatrist, where he sneaked out of his office to phone his broker, just to come back to misunderstanding about his patient being possibly gay (imagine, in 1962!)… let just say, it was funny to see it played out, but also shows you how much we’ve moved forward in the past almost 60 years now.
Overall, there might be a reason for that fairly low rating on IMDb, I know both of these acting giants probably have better movies on their resume, but I genuinely found this movie to be like a warm, cosy blanket where you are there to enjoy yourself. I sure have.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
