Mr Blandings, IMDb

Watching old movies was a favorite hobby as a teen. A locally based station used to run classic flicks after the late news, and freshman classes started near noon at my overcrowded high school – a splendid serendipity.

Enjoyed Mr. Blandings this year (or more accurately last year) for New Year’s Eve. A questionable choice, perhaps, when a year of smooth renovations and updates is the goal.

The movie is less frenetic than similar period screwball comedies but insanely sexist. That soured the viewing a bit. However, since no one comes out unscathed, except the children and the housekeeper, it’s understandable as reflective its time without excusing the shortcomings.

Myrna Loy’s scene of picking colors is considered iconic in interior design circles. While it’s funny and captures the essence, it fell flat on this viewing. Maybe the pedestal it’s been placed on is too high – for the scene itself and the topic. Followup would help and be in character: Three of the colors are all wrong but the fourth is spot on.

Watching Grant and Loy jostle in the new bathroom, the thing that tipped the scales in the first place: well played. How life is lived in a space is the thing, not the place itself.

Researching the real life story about the writer and all the houses built as part of the promotion really brought it home. Maybe that’s a hobby to start: Visiting all those houses. That would be a triumph of the mundane.

(image courtesy of IMDb)