MovieChat Forums > Bringing Up Baby (1938) Discussion > Outdated humor!!!

Outdated humor!!!

posted 10 years ago by Der_Blaue_Reiter
24 replies | jump to latest

My great-grandmother would appreciate the kind of humor presented in this film.I think that this humor is outdated , predictable and annoying.This film was an excruciating experience especially to my eardrums thanks to the bizarre and boisterous character of Katharine Hepburn. I really fail to see why would someone fail in love with such a character ( ok a million dollars channeled to my private Jurassic museum account would have helped ).
Back in the 40's I could imagine the audiences laughing their socks off (with lines such as " He is Mr.Bone" ) but nowadays?
Can anyone care to persuade me why this kind of humor is still funny ?Wouldn't it be nowadays just another utterly silly worthless romantic comedy?
(And YES I'm judging the film by today's standards after watching countless and better comedies).

Feel free to meander trough my ratings in case you fancy an argumentum ad hominem

[–] gulag 9 years ago

Fortunately as time passes the remarks of the OP will also be seriously outdated.

[–] redbrioche 8 years ago

I don't think it´s outdated humor, I just think the whole movie is awful. It's an embarrassment for Grant who had so much better comedies to work with. The only good thing is the big cat. Kate is even more obnoxious than usual with her irritating voice and hammy mannerisms. With Irene Dunne, Grant had a strong real commedienne to play off of, especially in The Awful Truth. And later he later played in memorable dramas with such actresses as Ingrid Bergman and Eva Marie Saint. Back in the 30s he was teamed better with Mae West

[–] redbrioche 8 years ago

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] magickbox 8 years ago

I just watched this movie and much to my amazement I found myself having a good chuckle throughout and it reminded me how crass and overhyped many of today's motion picture comedies are.

[–] Shiroyasha 8 years ago

You first need to take the context into consideration. Americans in the 30s were really conservative and cared a lot about status and public image. So the fact that the characters, all upper-class, are all put into unconventional and even humiliating situations already plays a big factor.

Physical comedy was really popular back then as well, and this film has a great deal of it.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

I didn't find it LOL funny but still very enjoyable.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8812) 4 years ago

I watched it for the first time a few months ago. While it may not have a lot of literal laugh-out-loud moments it certainly has a lot of amusing moments that will make you smile. I found it overall to be quite a charming film.