My Ass-Man Godfrey

I started a few more ALB- (Munekyunkissa) stubs this morning (ALB-064 - ALB-067), the total boob-count weighing in at one G-cup, two I-cups, and a K-cup. We see the lovely, but unnamed K-cup girl starring in K-cup Amateur Nakadashi in Aomori over there on the left. In the afternoon I added some more Arzon info to the list of future articles.


Still feeling under the weather last night, I went to bed early, watching My Man Godfrey (1936) before sleep. Now here's what pisses me off about Godfrey: If I'd never heard of it, and put it on with no knowledge of its history, it would have probably been a mildly amusing little hour and a half and I would have gone to sleep with a smile. Instead, I know that it was one of the most highly praised and (almost)-awarded comedies of its time-- a time when Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers were in their prime. A time when Keaton, Chaplin, Langdon, and Lloyd were still very much alive and capable of doing more great work given the opportunity. It was a time when the "lesser" comedians included such greats as Edgar Kennedy, James Finlayson, the amazing Charley Bowers... And how many Academy Awards were these comic geniuses given? Chaplin got a couple of honorary-- but then he was Chaplin. Other than that... I think Laurel & Hardy got one, and that's it. The greatest era of American film comedy (after the '20s), and the critics were honoring pretentious, prissy, leisure-class screwball comedies like Godfrey, and sneering at the really funny people who were really making the country laugh.

OK, that's off my chest. Now, about Godfrey: Yes, it was all pleasant, light and enjoyable. I really never did care for Powell as a comic actor. I tried to get into the Thin Man series once, but quit about half-way through the second. Too... pleasant. I can't claim to be a Carole Lombard fan either. But a couple of supporting players made the proceedings more fun than they would have been in their absence. There is Mischa Auer in full "Mad Russian" mode, as a leech who has attached himself to the rich & crazy family. There is Eugene Pallette as Auer's enemy, the long-suffering, loud-mouthed, blustering patriarch of the family. If the movie had been more about them, and less Lombard & Powell, it would have suited my simple and earthy tastes better. And it would have been funnier... Six stars out of Ten from me... I only wish director Gregory La Cava had let me brainstorm with him. I'd recommend retitling to My Ass-Man Godfrey, and having the dapper gent sneak around Chinatown and Little Tokyo peeking at solidly-built ladies such as Shizuko Fujiki (left, in a scene from Kokujin nami no kyôi no koshi-tsuki! Hôman kyojiri kangofu-san - 黒人並みの脅威の腰付き！ 豊満巨尻看護婦さん; MAGURO-029; May 2012). If the Breen Office had turned a blind eye, there is no doubt in my mind it would have then WON four Academy Awards rather than just been nominated! No doubt whatsoever.