Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Year: 1948

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Potter

Review

like money pit, this is a comedy about home renovation. first half hour or so is really hilarious. we get to know cary grant’s character as he makes his way through a typical day – waking up, brushing his teeth, eating breakfast, going to work. he’s totally put out by life in general and is basically hassled from the moment he wakes up. it’s something we can all relate to on some level. sometimes it seems that life is setup just to annoy the hell out of us and that’s how it is for him, but to comic effect. eventually he and his wife figure that getting a house in the country (they currently live in manhattan) is the answer to all their problems.

as it goes on the film returns fewer and fewer laughs. it gets a bit bogged down by extraneous plotlines (jealousy and pressure at work begin to eat away at grant) that take it into the drama genre a bit. but there has to be a story in there somewhere so it works for me. myrna loy is good as the matter-of-fact wife who seemingly always gets her way. good flick.