The Awful Truth (1937)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I'd already seen countless Cary Grant films by the time I'd gotten around to seeing The Aweful Truth, but have to admit I think it was my first Irene Dunne film. She's really great here and of course so is Grant. It's really quite funny and charming and yet is distinct from all of the other 'screw-ball' comedies of this period. I was concerned it might get sentimental towards the end but thankfully it didn't. I really enjoyed it.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play a married couple who divorce due to (mostly) mutual misguided suspicions of infidelity. As the divorce proceeds, both hook up with other romantic partners, and each does their best to sabotage the other's relationship. This is one of the best screwball comedies and a perfect example of the comedy of remarriage, a genre created to largely tell slightly racy comedic stories while not running afoul of the Production Code. Grant and Dunne have incredible screen chemistry and both are at the top of their game here. Ralph Bellamy co-stars as a fairly dumb suitor ... a role he seems to have been born to play over and over again ... and there's a good reason for that. The scene where he dances a ridiculously elaborate dance with Dunne while Grant looks on is one of the funniest sequences committed to film.

It's nice to see an entertaining love story. A story that is spontaneous, simple and hilarious. THE AWFUL TRUTH is that kind of movie. am delighted by the fact that improvisation of dialogue is so original and funny.In the film, everything seems cheerful and clever, although the topic should not be like that. The moments in which the main characters get serious are rare. The technique is great because I do not remember that someone dared so to force a dialogue. If the revolution dialogue add great improvisation result in this case is excellent. I do not think that this film is a completely sheer comedy. There are contained travesty and mockery, supposed game of movement and language.I'm pretty sure that this movie eagerly embraced today's audience. Thematic would be interesting, but this dose immaturity character would only heightened the effect. I do not think they would have caught the stomach from laughing, but they would certainly enjoy. Set design is not perfect, but at times I was amazed. The acting is phenomenal.Love triangle Grant, Dunne and Bellamy acts hilarious. Cary Grant as Jerry Warriner is sarcastic without being nasty, debonair but not aloof. Grant is a sophisticated comedian. Every line is a cheeky poke. Irene Dunne as Lucy Warriner is funny, glamorous, hoyden and mischievous at the same time. She dominated the competition at a crucial moment. The second part of the film is rightfully hers. Ralph Bellamy (Dan Leeson) was from the beginning an absolute outsider. Jerry in every scene separated him into prime factors. Cecil Cunningham as Aunt Patsy is responsible for the sarcastic tone. Every time in the right moment.The Awful Truth is smart and witty comedy. The famous dialogue with lots of humor and sophisticated situations. McCarey made a great movie.

Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth is a smart romantic comedy movie that is unlike any other comedy that I have ever seen before as well as being one of the best comedies ever made. McCarey's film tells the story of a couple (played by Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in an Oscar nominated performance) who is about to divorce each other with some complicated events (especially the scene where the Cary Grant and Irene Dunne characters are in the courtroom trying to find out who is going to take custody of their dog of which they call "Mr. Smith"). While watching the courtroom scene in this movie I thought of this movie as a satire to Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) because both films talk about divorce but both are different genres whereas Kramer vs. Kramer has the more emotional aspect of divorce and this film is just the opposite because both Jerry (Grant) and Lucy (Dunne) can't handle it without another, also while Lucy is still married she ends having a love affair with a man named Daniel Leeson (played by Ralph Bellamy in a performance that got him an Oscar nomination), but coincidentally Jerry also attempts to have a love affair with a woman named Barbara Vance (played by Molly Lamont), and here is the part of why both affairs end up being a total coincidence and that reasoning is because both affairs don't last too long. As Roger Ebert once said on his show with Gene Siskel "and so often in relationships who do you like? you like the people who like you." and that is just the case with this movie, and also it gives a very valuable life lesson for married couples and that is to never divorce from each other for the wrong reasons.