Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

I did buy this and it does get better on a repeat watch.  I decided to make it my Movie Club pick because I wanted to stay with the musical/performance theme but I wanted something a little lighter and fluffier after Black Swan.  I think it's a nice juxtaposition of Art for Art's Sake and Art as Commodity.  Nina Sayres is willing to die to achieve perfection in her art form but Lorelei Lee just wants to have a comfortable retirement.  Both women know their careers are short-lived and that time is running out.  And that's why we have to burn down the patriarchy because there is a 50-year time difference in these films and absolutely nothing has changed.  Originally posted 17 Mar 14.    I've never been a big Marilyn Monroe fan.  I just don't see what the big deal is.  I could be convinced to be a Jane Russell fan, though, after this and His Kind of Woman.

Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) are showgirls and best friends.  Lorelei is after money and she has her eye on dull millionaire Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan), but Gus's father won't approve their marriage.  Lorelei and Dorothy decide to cruise to France in the hopes of getting Gus to chase after her and get out of his father's influence.  What they don't know is that Daddy Esmond has hired a private detective (Elliott Reid) to follow Lorelei in the hopes of catching her being a gold-digging whore.  The detective is much more interested in Dorothy, however, it doesn't keep him from snapping some pictures of Lorelei and the owner of a diamond mine, "Piggy" Beekman (Charles Coburn).  But it's when Beekman gives Lorelei a diamond tiara belonging to his wife that things really start to go downhill.

This film features the song "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" and one of Monroe's most iconic costumes.  I had seen the musical number (and countless rip-offs) before, I just hadn't seen the whole picture.  It still stands up as a comedy and Monroe excels at playing the dumb blonde, that's just not a character archetype I'm fond of watching.  I'm definitely going to own it, though, since I think it'll just get better with repeat viewings.