Review: The Apartment

Jack Lemmon is C.C. Baxter, working for a big insurance firm trying to ascend the corporate ladder. Part of this involves lending out a key to his apartment to some of the company execs to use for their extra-marital affairs in the hopes of a good word leading to a promotion. Meanwhile, Baxter is working up the courage to ask out the pretty elevator attendant at his building, Miss Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), unawares that she herself is the mistress of Baxter’s married boss, Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). Ray Walston plays one of the schmuck company execs, and Jack Kruschen is Baxter’s Jewish doctor neighbour who thinks Baxter is a gigolo.

 

Although there’s a few wannabe-cute lines in the otherwise excellent Oscar-winning script by I.A.L. Diamond (“Some Like it Hot”, “Cactus Flower”), this 1960 Billy Wilder (“Double Indemnity”, “The Lost Weekend”, “Some Like it Hot”) film is easily one of the best romantic comedies ever made. True, it’s not often referred to as a romantic comedy, the romantic aspect is mostly confined to the finale (and may not be conclusive enough for everyone). However, it has certainly had its influence on the genre over the years (and not just the Michael J. Fox remake “The Concierge”). Also, the general plot mechanics have a romantic comedy feel to them if you ask me, with the obstacles put in the way of our hero meeting up with his ideal girl.

 

I think it’s the seediness and melancholy of the characters that stops most people from noticing that this even is a romantic comedy (or romantic comedy-drama, if you really must insist). Made at just the right time where films of this sort could afford to get a little darker, the film paints its characters in slightly seedy fashion, actually. I think that’s the key to why it still works today, the film has a maturity and sadness that earlier films of this sort don’t quite have (Attempted suicide is a plot point, for instance). There’s a whole lotta office sexism going on in this film (long before TV’s “Mad Men”), which might not have been shown in film much before this. Although I maintain that the film is a romantic comedy, the film isn’t solely concerned with whether our hero gets the girl. It’s much more complicated and more cynical than that. Jack Lemmon’s character is somewhat of a weak-willed butt-kisser, a corporate sell-out who finally discovers his backbone…and his soul by the end of the film. Jack Lemmon’s casting in this is crucial. Since Baxter starts out being somewhat sycophantic and a little pathetic, you need a relatable guy like Lemmon in the role so you can sympathise with the guy. Shirley MacLaine has never been sweeter or more likeable than she is here, a perfect match with Lemmon (both were Oscar nominated, neither won). You really want to see these two together by the end of the film. Part of the reason for that, however, is because of just how effective Fred MacMurray is at playing a cowardly, heartless heel. I think he’s better in “The Caine Mutiny” and “Double Indemnity”, but he really is a solid jerk here (Much better than Jack Kruschen, who actually got an Oscar nomination for his ethnic character work here. He’s fine, but MacMurray is definitely more memorable). His best scene is his first, where he works his way around to getting Lemmon’s spare key. It’s a nice bit of acting and a great bit of writing from Diamond. MacMurray plays a real piece of work, and sadly he’s the kind of guy a lot of women will fall for. Here, though, there’s the chance that the girl will finally stand up for herself and choose the nice guy over the already married jerk. Look for some energetic scene stealing from a young-ish Ray Walston as one of the sleazy execs. He steals his every scene simply by looking like he’s enjoying the hell out of himself.

 

Winner of the Best Picture Oscar, there’s some really great bits in this, including the funny bit where Lemmon is trying to watch TV but all he keeps hitting on is commercials. That shit still happens today, even with the amount of channels you get on cable. In fact, it might be even truer today than it was in 1960. I swear TV stations time their ads to keep you from switching stations! There’s also a very funny scene where Lemmon needs to cancel one of the exec’s plans to use his key, because Lemmon is going home sick. The labyrinthine series of re-shuffles he has to navigate, might just be the funniest thing in the film.

 

Although I’m not entirely sure this film really needed to be in B&W (and I love B&W films, believe me), I loved the visual of just how ‘samey’ and uniform the office scenes are designed and play out. The corporate world is obviously meant to be somewhat soulless and dehumanising here. It’s nice to get a point across with something visual instead of through dialogue for a change. There are some great bits of dialogue throughout though, right down to the random and weird bit with a girl at a bar babbling on about Castro. What the hell? If the film has any downside, it’s with Diamond getting a little too cute and quirky by having Lemmon end words with ‘wise’, several times. It’s an annoying gimmick that isn’t necessary and just alerts you to the fact that someone is putting the words in Lemmon’s mouth.

 

Terrific entertainment from a time when comedies didn’t have to have a gut-buster per minute. It’s not my favourite romantic comedy of all-time, but it’s highly entertaining and influential. It’s also somewhat unusual, romantic but slightly seedy. A rarity for its time. This has an enjoyable plot, great characters and performances, a bit of edge, and it holds up exceptionally well some fifty years later.

 

Rating: A-