Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russel, the female friendship pioneers
reviews
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reviews 〰️
I went into that film completely blind, I had seen some clips of Marilyn Monroe’s films on social media but had no idea which were from where. Imagine my surprise when I realised all of the ones I had seen were from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes!
That film was an absolute delight, I knew people kept moaning about the loss of Technicolour but now I know why. The images were just stunning and the colours… MY GAWD THE COLOURS. I love colourful things and this was simply a feast for the eyes, at least in my opinion. The outfits were absolutely stunning, I want their entire wardrobe (props to David C. Woodard, he did a fantastical job with the costume design). The musical numbers were also great, there is such an enchanting aspect to the way people sung back in the 50’s and I was genuinely having such a good time. Truth be told, on the way there I was scared I might fall asleep, I had had a pretty long (and rough) day at work and hadn’t slept much the night before— I was going through some dark times and was constantly exhausted. Yet the second it started I was wide awake, eyes glued to the screen, a smile on my face.
I enjoyed the film from start to finish, there was just one moment when the poc representation made me scrunch my nose a little. I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly what made me uncomfortable but something was off, it was kind of the same vibe as the little centaurette in Fantasia from Disney. However I’m white as a ghost so probably not the best person to tackle that subject hence why I won’t delve into it much, just a little warning for people wanting to watch.
This moment aside though, there was something from the film that I really enjoyed, when the girls are in France, the characters speak French! I feel nowadays we tend to completely remove language barriers for the sake of storytelling and it was refreshing to see a film who didn’t shy away from not translating a language, and just working your way around it with gestures and quick explanations that make sense in context—it also makes for great comedy. I can also 100% confirm they picked native French speaker, not an American they gave a phonetic script to who would then butcher the whole thing with a terrible accent like Netflix enjoys doing so much.
There was a lovely intro before the film by Rógan Graham and I was surprised to learn this whole shabang was adapted from a novel by Anita Loos, a woman! Furthermore, while I did know Marilyn had inspired many people— obviously she’s an icon— I learned she had directly promised to sit at the front row of all of Ella Fitzgerald’s shows in a specific venue which drove paparazzi insane and gave Ella the marketing she deserved. There seemed to be a wonderful friendship between the two, and I loved the way Marylin used her privilege. They are said to both have bonded over the complications of their childhood(1).
Anyway, now less about the technicality and more about the story itself.
I loved to see a female friendship at the center of the story, sure both of them were dealing with love life problems, but it really felt like their relationship with each other was the center point. The solidarity between Dorothy and Lorelei is absolutely lovely to see, despite having different goals and ideals. Dorothy is interested in love and looks, she wants to have fun (who can blame her) while Lorelei is our diamond obsessed girlie who believes financial security is necessary for romance to flourish (a valid point imo). Both of the girls do try to influence each other for what they think is best for one another, however they still support each other’s choices.
I really enjoyed watching Jane Russel’s character interact with the people around her, Dorothy is very free in her sexuality and it is never portrayed as shameful nor vulgar. She simply is a beautiful woman existing and enjoying life while knowing what she’s worth. She radiates such confidence, despite being 24, I felt back in the shoes of 10 y/o me watching a beautiful woman pass by and thinking how cool she is.
Also, funnily enough, while the sexualisation of the girls never feels in your face or too much (like genuinely, it literally just feel like beautiful women existing, no weird angles or anything), I would almost say the men were more objectified than women in the film. That Olympic team on the boat, and the whole musical number when they are working out with Dorothy doing a musical number in the middle almost felt like a role reversal. I don’t know, maybe I’m just seeing what I want to see but I really enjoyed it. It was a nice change.
Despite being portrayed as the « dumb blonde », Marilyn’s character is actually quite smart in terms of how life worked back in the days. She puts financial security above all else, and while she does love diamonds, it is hard to detach them from financial security. The history of women and jewels has always been tied to financial security, it was something they could sell if the situation ever came dire, it all derived from a time when we were not allowed to open our own bank account (this was the case until the late 19th century, so barely more than 50 years before the release of the film (2))
Not only does Lorelei know what she needs for financial security, she also clearly displays knowing how to obtain it. Whether it be through her behaviour throughout the film, or the line her character clearly states near the end « I can be smart when it’s important, but most men don’t like it ». Her character of the dumb blonde is, indeed, a character. I find it very interesting that this line is thrown at the very end of the film, because it forces the audience to reconsider their opinion of Lorelei and the judgement they may have casted too promptly.
The film ends with Dorothy and Lorelei marrying their love interest, at the same time, wearing the same dress, walking down the aisle together. I’m sorry if that is not the epitome of ambiguous female friendship I don’t know what is. Lorelei and Dorothy walked so that Liana and Alexa, and Anneliese and Erika could run. These two women were each other’s soulmates and you can remove that take from my cold dead hands, I don’t care whether you interpret it as romantic or platonic, in both cases, soulmates.
cue in that song that goes “I will fall in love with you, over and over again, I don’t care how where or when, no matter how long it’s been”
Side note : The BFI is having a Marilyn Monroe season and I was originally going to make one piece of all the films I went to see. But I’m just out of the first one and when I see how much I’ve written……… Yeah this one had to be its own thing lol
1Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe : Inside their Surprising Friendship2Women’s rights and their money : a timeline from Cleopatra to Lilly Ledbetterwant these landing in your inbox before anyone else sees them?
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