The Apartment

Rating: 5+/5

The Apartment is perfection.

After marathoning my way through all 93 Best Picture winners, The Apartment is the first one I wanted to revisit. Prior to watching this for the first time, I had been excited to see it because I have loved Some Like it Hot for many years, so I was eager to see another collaboration with Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon. After watching it, I was as far from disappointed as one could possibly be. In fact, I cannot decide which of those two movies I enjoyed more, because they're both the epitome of excellence.

There are countless things that make The Apartment such a favorite of mine, to name them all would take far too many words for a quick review, so I'll do my best to narrow it down. You see, even though the premise of The Apartment is rather simple, it's that simplicity that makes it so marvelous. The plot isn't complicated, so instead of trying to figure out what's going on, you're able to get a well rounded perspective on who the characters are, and I really think that's my favorite piece.

Though I wouldn't consider myself and expert on the genre, I've seen many, many classic films in my lifetime. Certainly more than most people my age, and in those films, you definitely get some unique characters, but many of the male ones fall into very similar categories. There's the classic hero figure, ruggedly handsome and ready to save the day. Sometimes they're the sidekick, prone to making goofy faces and the occasional gag in order to get a laugh. Or they're the villain, suave yet dangerous. Jack Lemmon's character, C.C. Baxter, blissfully doesn't fit into any of those descriptions. He's a genuinely nice guy, one who's just trying to do the right thing, but not seeking recognition for it. He likes a girl at his work, and he just wants her to like him back. There's nothing showy in any of his actions, he just wants to see her happy. As I write this, there's a scene that sticks out in my mind like a neon road sign on a stretch of dark highway. It is in this scene that you see the full scope of why his character is so wonderful. He's trying to take care of Shirley MacLaine's Ms.Kubelik, and in doing so, he's more caring and more considerate than I've ever seen any male character be in classic film, or any era of film for that matter. He's real and he's genuine. Now, C.C. Baxter was obviously written to be this way, but there's no doubt in my mind that the reason it was so convincing was that Jack Lemmon was the one to bring him to life. I watch this scene, and a smile spreads across my face. I think about this scene and achieve the same results.

Prior to watching this, I have to admit I wasn't the biggest Shirley MacLaine fan. I didn't dislike her, but I'd only seen her more recent movies, where she plays a feisty older woman who appears to only be in the film for the sake of her name. The Apartment completely changed my entire opinion on MacLaine. She's absolutely phenomenal in this movie. Again, like Lemmon, her character is very unusual for the time in which this film came out. Though The Apartment was released in 1960, you could start to see the slight shift in the Hollywood perspective, and that is clearly present in her character. Fran Kubelik doesn't fit the mold of the classic movie heroine. Her romantic relationships aren't exactly honest and she struggles with her own self worth. She doesn't see in herself what C.C. Baxter clearly sees in her. Making for one of the best on screen relationships out there.

Sometimes, when I love a movie as much as I love The Apartment, I find it difficult to truly put into words why I feel about it the way that I do. It's one of those times where, to articulate my true opinion, I find words to be lacking. The last I'll attempt to say is that I cannot express enough just how fantastic I find The Apartment to be. If you've never seen it, or think you aren't a fan of classic film, do yourselves a favor and watch this. It's truly one of the best.

1961 Best Picture Winner - The Apartment

1961 Best Director Winner - Billy Wilder

1961 Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen Winners - Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond

1961 Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Black and White Winners - Alexandre Trauner & Edward G. Boyle

1961 Best Film Editing Winner - Daniel Mandell