Monkey Business (1952)

IMDb plot summary: A chemist finds his personal and professional life turned upside down when one of his chimpanzees finds the fountain of youth.
Directed by Howard Hawks. Starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, and Marilyn Monroe.

A silly 1950s comedy with Cary Grant was a good bet for me as far as a movie I'd probably enjoy. Unfortunately, the primary joke of the movie doesn't work very well for me. I think I counted two chuckles and a lot of impatient looking at the clock. I do think they did an excellent job of making both leads refreshingly even-tempered and reasonable as their normal selves, so it was clear when they were *not* being that. In a lesser movie, there'd have been a lot more of them blowing up at each other after the "episodes" ended for things they did during them. Overall the concept is just an excuse for the leads to run around acting silly, and the brand of silliness they're going for here isn't bad in and of itself, but it just doesn't work for me. (Plus, there's a *really* uncomfortable way-too-long segment full of Native American stereotypes that made me squirmy. It would have been easier to factor that out if I'd liked the rest of the movie more.)

1.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Monkey Business < Another Thin Man
Monkey Business > The English Patient
Monkey Business < Lilo & Stitch
Monkey Business < The Forest
Monkey Business > Bedtime Story
Monkey Business > Before I Fall
Monkey Business > Young Mr. Lincoln
Monkey Business > The Visitor
Monkey Business < A Man Called Peter

Flickchart crapped out on me at this point, but it's in a pretty accurate spot: #1910 out of 2762.