Earlier this week, I received 65 followers on 18 Cinema Lane! With my blog’s first anniversary coming up next Saturday, I found this recent gain in blog followers to be a pleasant surprise! As I’ve been doing before, I have chosen to review a film that was released 65 years ago (in 1954). While researching movies with 1954 release dates, one film in particular instantly stood out to me. The reason is because of the title alone. Phffft (yes, that is the real title of this film) is a movie that seemed like it was begging for me to watch and, eventually, review it. So, because of everything I’ve just said, I decided to pick Phffft as my movie of choice this time around. Was this film as funny as this title suggests? I’m glad you came to this review, as we’re about to find out!

Things I liked about the film:

• The acting: I thought the cast of Phffft was good! Judy Holliday shined the brightest with her portrayal of Nina. Her performance appeared very natural as well as believable. I also thought that Jack Lemmon did a good job with his portrayal of Robert. Everything that happened with Robert seemed so convincing because of how versatile Jack’s performance was. Even though this is a movie about a couple experiencing a divorce, Jack and Judy gave a good performance not only as individuals, but also as a pair. Whenever Robert and Nina were together, I always had the impression that Judy and Jack had good on-screen chemistry. In a scene where Nina and Robert unexpectedly become each other’s dancing partner, it looked like they truly enjoyed one another’s company.

• What it means to be a “hero”: During a flashback scene that explains how Robert and Nina met, it was revealed that Robert was a military lawyer. In this scene, his self-esteem has fallen a little bit because he doesn’t see himself as a hero. I found this character choice of Robert being a military lawyer very interesting. In fact, it seems like we, the audience, don’t get many portrayals of military lawyers in film. Besides A Few Good Men, I can’t really think of many movies that feature the importance of military lawyers. Phffft does take the time to show how lawyers can play a significant role within the military. The film does this by having Nina remind Robert, as well as Robert reminding himself, that if he wasn’t keeping an eye on the military’s finances, the military would have lost a lot of money. This message of how a hero can mean different things to different people was a good addition to this film.

• Showing both perspectives: As I’ve already mentioned, Phffft is about a couple who experiences a divorce. In movies where divorce can be found in the film’s narrative, the main perspective is usually given to just one person in that relationship. Also, in movies about divorce, there are times when one person in the relationship is portrayed as an antagonist and the other is portrayed as a protagonist. In Phffft, however, the story is told from both of the perspectives of Robert and Nina. Each side of the story is given an equal amount of time for the characters to grow as individuals and experience their own personal journeys. It also shows an unbiased view of what each character is going through. To me, I thought this was a good story-telling choice.

What I didn’t like about the film:

• Lack of comedy: Despite the humorous title, I didn’t find Phffft to be very funny. While I did chuckle at some moments, there were no moments within the film that made me burst out laughing. I’m not sure if this movie just didn’t correlate with my sense of humor or if the comedic writing in this film was just that weak. But I, personally, found the lack of comedy in this movie to be very disappointing.

• Too dialogue-heavy: In every movie, dialogue is a necessary component to the overall story. However, there is such a thing as too much dialogue. Phffft featured many scenes where characters were having conversations with one another. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough situations and conflicts happening in this movie to balance out the dialogue. Having too much dialogue in this film did not work its favor.

• The premise being too basic: While Robert and Nina’s divorce was the main plot in Phffft, it was the only plot within this movie. Also, I found this plot to be so basic, that the scenarios Robert and Nina get themselves into feel like they were incorporated in the movie just for the sake of keeping the plot going. Like I just mentioned, Phffft didn’t have enough situations and conflicts to balance out the dialogue. To me, this movie needed, at least, one secondary plot in order to keep it interesting. Because of the lack of subplots, it caused the other characters in this movie to feel like they were just there because they knew either Robert or Nina.

My overall impression:

At the end of the day, Phffft was just ok. Because of how funny this title sounds, I was expecting the film to be just as funny. Unfortunately, this movie was somewhat disappointing for me. All of the comedy in Phffft felt weak, almost like it was poorly written. However, I would never say this is a bad film. There were things about it that I liked, such as Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon’s performances. But when it comes to comedies from the 1950s, I think there are movies out there that are better than Phffft. Now that this review is coming to an end, I just want to take the time to say thank you to each of my 65 followers. When I started this blog a year ago, I never expected to receive this many followers in such a short amount of time. It just makes me appreciate all the success this blog has achieved, including the increase in readers and followers.

Overall score: 6.1 out of 10

What are your thoughts about this review? Are you looking forward to the 70 follower thank you post? Please tell me in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen