The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good concept, poorly executed.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Although it contains one of cinema's most enduring and iconic scenes, The Seven Year Itch is not actually very good. Tom Ewell plays a married man who has the family apartment to himself for the summer, and Marilyn Monroe plays a ditzy blonde who lives upstairs. The plot charts the "will they, won't they?" situation, but hardly anything actually happens.For Monroe fans, it's a poor deal as there is an awful lot of screen time devoted to Tom Ewell delivering extended monologues, which probably worked as a stage play (which this originally was), but gets pretty boring in a movie. This is not really Ewell's fault, he knows how to perform dialogue, but the script is not engaging, as it consists mostly of the character's neurotic musings and guilt about his attractiveness/fidelity/health/the heat/work/smoking, etc. As soon as Monroe is on screen though, she lights it up, but the extent of her dimness is very forced, particularly as Ewell's character is so obviously trying to seduce her, yet she remains unbelievably and steadfastly oblivious to it for nearly all of the running time, while he burbles away via the ever present monologues. Even the skirt blowing scene is disappointing - a real let down when the on screen footage of the situation is compared to the wealth of still photographs that exist of the famous event, because in the movie it's barely even shown.Directed by Billy Wilder, it's nowhere near as smart and sassy as "Some Like It Hot". I think the stage origins drag it down. Town Ewelll is actually the central character, but he fights a losing battle against both the luminous Monroe, and the drivel of his character's dialogue. And for Marilyn Monroe fans, she does provide a textbook dizzy breathy blonde bombshell, but a sharper and wittier script would have made so much more of her.

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH is a funny comedy that makes fun of goods fidelity in marriage and love madness. The main protagonist is a workaholic who is going through a midlife crisis. Like many husbands in this film, he sends his wife and son out of town on the summer vacation. Regardless of the love madness, which then reigned, he is trying to remain faithful to his wife, healthy habits and his work. Faithful until the hottest blonde rings the bell at his door...This film is a parody stereotype, which is not so bad. She is a stereotypical dumb blonde, but she dominates in every moment. He is the foundation and driving force in his company and he often wanders into the world of his own imagination. This is a comedy where the facts and the challenge are clearly set out. The Seven Year Itch is a fact, regardless of his crisis, raging libido and some anxiety. The challenge is Marilyn Monroe. It's simple. The pandemonium ensues when the main protagonist stops to distinguish fantasy from reality. Tom Ewell as Richard Sherman is extremely fun, especially in moments of self-punishment. His crisis are explosive, but in a farcical way, because he finds meaning in everything. Marilyn Monroe as The Girl is simply dominant. Her acting lacks a little depth, but there are too many fluttering and seduction. This is Mrs. Monroe. Her effort is undeniable. It's a little too hot.This may be adultery, but all is too lukewarm. The film definitely does not leave a strong impression.

Notable for featuring one of 20th century's most iconic images, Billy Wilder's The Seven Year Itch is forever etched in the annals of cinema for that sequence alone rather than the film itself. And though by no means does it mean that it's not a good film because it's another fine comedy from Wilder that teases with the idea of infidelity but is still no match to his most acclaimed works.The story of The Seven Year Itch concerns a faithful & overly imaginative middle-aged man who after sending his family off during summer holidays tries to live a bachelor's life but finds himself tempted by a beautiful neighbour. The title refers to the declining interest in monogamous relationship after 7 years of marriage or so they say.Directed by Billy Wilder, the film has all the ingredients of a quality story but feels like it needed a push that never came. The imaginary sequences start off nicely but only become less interesting as the story progresses, camera-work is fluid, editing could've trimmed a few more moments and the performances by its cast is excellent as it benefits from Tom Ewell's impressive act & Marylin Monroe's unmatched screen presence.On an overall scale, The Seven Year Itch feels incomplete as there was a lot that could & should have been done with the story but it never comes to that moment. Also, the shot of Marylin Monroe standing on a subway grate as a white dress is blown by a passing train isn't exactly shown in the manner it has become a part of our pop culture. So there's a little disappointment in that as well. Yet, the screenplay packs enough energy & Wilder's direction is brilliant enough to keep the viewers interested for the majority of its runtime.

I have always liked Marilyn Monroe, but, with that said, I honestly think that Hollywood totally wasted her by squeezing her into a stereotypical straitjacket where they tried to repeatedly capitalize on that clichéd persona by starring her in such mediocre movie-nonsense as this here "Comedy" that was so funny I forgot to laugh.As usual, Monroe looked very hot in this flick (in fact, she was simply sensational to behold), but, since she was clearly being presented here as a sex-object and being defined within the rigid restrictions of a fantasy, dream woman for every man, any opportunity for Monroe to really shine was flatly denied her.And, so, Monroe (whose character wasn't even allowed a name, but was given some of the dumbest and most contrived dialog to speak) simply remained just some flighty, little figment of one man's lecherous imagination throughout the entire course of this so-so picture.What definitely brought this faltering film's appeal-level down several major notches was the gross miscasting of Tom Ewell as the Richard Sherman character, a family man who just so happened to be the publisher of lewd and lurid dime-novels.Put plain and simple, Ewell, to me, was sickening. Not only was his character an annoying idiot with an inflated ego about the size of NYC, but, his overall appearance was utterly creepy, and his attitude so downright lecherous, that he made my skin crawl, big time.I mean, this guy struck me as one of those totally ugly, self-loving, middle-aged farts who have really foul body odor and the most ghastly, bad breath imaginable. (He also struck me as a potential rapist and, yes, perhaps, even a possible child-molester, as well) And, believe me, when Ewell actually kissed Monroe smack-dab on the lips, I could easily imagine director Billy Wilder having to immediately cut the scene at that point so that Marilyn could go and throw up in the nearest sink/toilet/whatever and then furiously brush her teeth with "Dazzledent" toothpaste in order to get rid of Ewell's hideous reek.Hey! Please don't get me wrong here - I didn't hate The Seven Year Itch, but, with that said, I'm sorry, f-f-f-folks, but, this film just didn't work its intended magic on me.Yes, of course, I do realize that this over-rated sex-farce was clearly a product of its time (the 1950s) - And, I'm more than sure that it totally titillated its adult audience, immensely, back then - But, now, 60 years later, this decidedly weak-scripted tale of a male-menopause fantasy-overload only flew at half-mast.Oh, well - So much for the hitch of The Seven Year Itch! Yep. It's a real b-i-t-c-h!