Spoiler Alert: It's White Chicks with Marilyn Monroe!

Movie: Some Like it Hot

Rank: 22

Year: 1959 Director: Billy Wilder

Cast: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, George Raft, Joe E. Brown

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Two down-and-out black FBI agent brothers are tasked with driving two rich, white women to their ritzy fashion weekend when they get in a car accident. After the women sustain minor injuries they refuse to sport in public, the agents don Mrs. Doubtfirelevel costumes to take on the women’s identities. Despite looking more mannequin than human and not mastering the art of the tuck, they assimilate into the friend group with ease. While one brother is pursued by a pro-basketball player unaware of his race or gender, the other uses this distraction to impersonate that player’s lifestyle to pursue a female reporter. Then…

Wait, that’s the plot to White Chicks. Let me start over.

After cops bust up a speakeasy, two of its musicians must find work. While trying to pick up a car to get to a gig, the mobsters who ran the speakeasy kill everyone in the garage. As the only two witnesses, Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women to join an all-female band bound for Florida. As they board the train, they meet Sugar who is one strike away from unemployment given her affinity for a hidden flask. She confides in Jerry and Joe, or should I say Daphne and Josephine, about her desire to find a millionaire. Joe runs with the idea and takes on a British, millionaire persona to win her over. Meanwhile, a horny, old man named Osgood pursues Jerry’s alter-ego Daphne and eventually they become engaged. Essentially, that all goes to shit when those murderous mobsters show up at their resort. They all escape, Jerry, Joe, Osgood and Sugar. Now, about Daphne’s gender reveal… it seems Osgood is still ready to walk down the aisle. Is Daphne?

Not to go full valley girl, but like, these are totes the same movie. Being the epitome of high-brow, I have seen White Chicks multiple times while this was my first viewing of Some Like It Hot. What started as a funny basic premise of men imitating women soon gave way to the same basic plot structure and character tropes.

"Story of my life. I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop."

- Sugar Kane, Some Like it Hot

Kevin and Marcus (White Chicks) vs. Joe and Jerry (Some Like It Hot):There are some obvious differences. Kevin and Marcus are brothers, while Joe and Jerry are best friends. Kevin and Marcus are covering their asses, while Joe and Jerry are trying to save theirs. Kevin and Marcus are imitating sisters, while Joe and Jerry made up their alter-egos. Marcus is married, while they are both single in Some Like It Hot. However, if you remove those basic circumstances, you are left with two men who share a close relationship and resort to cross dressing to overcome their main obstacle. They also get into eerily similar shenanigans.

Latrell (White Chicks) vs. Osgood (Some Like It Hot), the horny rich guy: I know, I know, a rich guy shamelessly pursuing a woman who isn’t interested? Shocking, horrifying storytelling. Yet, this “fresh” take on gender dynamics plays out in both films with differing results. Latrell is played by the always-buff, high-energy Terry Crews who sets his eyes on married Marcus’ female persona. Despite the many, at-times gross rebuffs, Latrell doesn’t get the hint until all is revealed. Osgood is no Terry Crews, instead he is the much older and much divorced predator to Jerry’s Daphne. Daphne, despite originally seeming horrified, gets totally taken with the idea of marrying a wealthy man for security, a stark difference to the broke existence of Jerry. Osgood even seems endearing by the end. When the truth is revealed, Osgood takes it in stride while Latrell is horrified Marcus isn’t white.

Kevin (White Chicks) vs. Joe (Some Like It Hot), the gender-bending con-artist:Kevin and Joe both approach wooing their crush in a rather similar way, impersonating the lifestyle of the rich-horny guy. While Kevin pretends to be the pro-basketball player to win over the affections of Denise, a reporter, he shows up at his house without knowing where anything is, going unrecognized by the staff and lying about the large picture of Latrell on the wall. Joe, knowing of Sugar’s desire to find a millionaire to marry in Florida, decides to pretend to be a wealthy Brit and infiltrates Osgood’s yacht while he’s occupied by Jerry. He similarly doesn’t know where dinner is set up or the alcohol is kept. While wining and dining, he claims to be frigid in a successful effort to force Sugar to be the forward one. Luckily for them, these women are forgiving.

Among the more minor similarities, these men traveled away to places ritzier than they are accustomed, at times must deal with a quick-change between genders, are forced to maintain appearances amongst a group of women and eventually get found out.

While I know you may have arrived at this post for some insight into the movie ranked first on “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs” list only to be greeted with a deep dive of a movie which Rotten Tomatoes scored at 15%, I must say that White Chicks is a legitimately fun ride. Before fully rerouting back to the intended path, this is my plea to give way any need for critical acclaim to enjoy the shtick and antics that is a Wayans brothers movie.

"Well, that's all for tonight, folks. This is Sweet Sue reminding all you daddy-Os out there that every girl in my band is a virtuoso and I intend to keep it that way."

- Sweet Sue, Some Like it Hot

*Recalculating… recalculating… recalculating…*

*Take a left at Marilyn Monroe.*

Clearly a film iconic enough to be ripped off and adapted, some of this movie’s magic is captured through that black and white lens. Despite color films becoming more common since the 1930’s, and it being a stipulation in Monroe’s contract, the decision was made to film in black and white to deal with the greenish hue of the heavy makeup worn by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. A by-product of this decision, the film maintains a timeless quality and aids it as a period piece taking place during prohibition.

Not really all that pertinent to this blog, but given my affinity for cheap wine, I must say I can’t understand being so opposed to alcohol that an amendment had to be created. Not just a law, but an amendment! Dark times, indeed.

You know who also couldn’t grasp prohibition? Literally everyone in this movie, because they all drank. And these characters were brought to life by some rather iconic actors.

I do believe this is the first Marilyn Monroe movie I have actually watched, though I didn’t know what to expect. Such an enigma, shrouded by theories surrounding her life and death, it was hard to picture her taking on any characters. Sugar seemed to be, in many ways, the summation of those theories. A bubbling personality brimming with sexuality and the desire to find a rich guy. However, with that persona, comes the attribution of a being a mess. She supposedly showed up hours late, required many retakes and had to read many of her lines.

"I'm a man" - Jerry, Some Like it Hot

"Well, nobody's perfect!" - Osgood, Some Like it Hot

Opposite her on-screen was Tony Curtis, Jamie Lee Curtis’ father, who supposedly mimicked Cary Grant for his turn as the faux-millionaire. He was every bit suave as he was impetuous.

Jerry, originally the more level-headed one, eventually gave way to their new characters played by Jack Lemmon, notable for pairing with director Billy Wilder again in The Apartment and his many films with Walter Matthau. Unlike Curtis, fighting against the female persona he must impersonate, Lemmon’s character starts to like this new life. Whether truly a fan of the security this new reality provides, or better able to embody a female spirit, he is excited by the notion of marrying Osgood.

Their relationship gave way to some homophobic-leaning comments at one point in the film, something I took as a reality of the era the movie was made, but was then shocked to see the open stance of same-sex marriage at the end. Whether for comedic effect or political statement, Osgood is portrayed as endearing while he accepts Daphne for all her Jerry-ness.

This, at the time, radical portrayal of same-sex interactions helped solidify the end of the Hays Code according to NPR’s “Remembering Hollywood’s Hays Code, 40 Years On.” The Hays Code, as I think I have mentioned previously, was the colloquial name for the Production Code of the Motion Picture Association of America before the implementation of the rating system. Some Like It Hot had to be released without approval as its enforcement started to weaken.

A rather enjoyable, and shockingly light-hearted feature of the list given its affinity for Nazi related content, does get rather steamy. It is true, some do like it hot.

*You have reached your destination.*