The Apartment is one of the most straightforward movies I’ve seen, which is a drawback, plus the setup drags a bit. From the acting to the killer final line at the end—“Shut up and deal”—everything was exquisite. With no hidden messages, cliffhangers, or subplots, The Apartment makes its case that a simple, straightforward plot is best, which is up to the viewer to either accept or not.
It is one of
those movies, that has had many references in other movies I have seen, so it
was needed for me to see it myself.
The movie is
delivered in black and white, and it was Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s next
big thing after their 1959
hit, Some Like It Hot. Some Like It Hot starred Marilyn
Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, and Wilder was eager to work with Lemmon
again. That led to Wilder casting him as Calvin Clifford (C.C.) "Bud"
Baxter, the lead character who owns “the apartment” where most of the movie
takes place.
The movie begins
with a brief introduction of C.C. Baxter (known as Bud or Buddy Boy), who loans
his apartment to his bosses at work so they can have their illicit affairs.
What he hopes to gain from this is a promotion, as the five senior colleagues
are giving him good reports.
Let’s not
forget—he’s also fallen for this girl, leaving him in a dilemma: love or
promotion.
How Baxter
handles it is reason enough for you to see the movie.
Although its release was seen as controversial due to its portrayal of infidelity as something funny and common, and women as mere tools of affection, which does not comply with what or believe or modern standards. Regardless of all this, it still was well received, and it earned more than seven times its production cost at the box office. The movie also went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and Lemmon and MacLaine each won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for their performances.
The movie can be
found on numerous lists of the best movies of all time, and it’s a definite
must-see.
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