So this is a screwball comedy, a G-rated sex romp, and a cross-dressing mobster farce all in one. It’s 90% disposable tripe, the Bosom Buddies of 1959, all obvious slapstick, groan-worthy double entendres, people racing around and changing clothes, and faux-witty banter. For a good portion of the movie, I was rolling my eyes at it in exasperation.

But… there is that 10%, where the witty banter actually works, where the entendres are a bit less groan-inducing, and where the cross-dressing farce actually seems to be flirting with something a bit edgier (by the standards of 1959) than just tee-hee-hee silliness — particularly the famous last line, which actually did get a laugh from me.

Really, its cast does a lot to save it, with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon rescuing a lot of clunky dialogue, and Marilyn Monroe delivering perfect comic timing (and raising the sex-romp level to PG just by being onscreen in that dress).

I can’t imagine considering this one of the best comedies ever made, but apparently the S&S critics think otherwise for god knows what reason (and not just the S&S critics: The AFI’s best comedies list literally puts it at #1… right ahead of Tootsie at #2, so apparently they think cross-dressing is hilarious), so let’s at least be glad that it has some slight charms to redeem it.