The Apartment (1960)

As the first movie to be reviewed in the 1001+ Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I'll get this out of the way quickly; I'll probably disagree with about 90% of this books' recommendations. They may be classics but that doesn't mean I have to see them, honestly put I'm not a huge fan of what many call "classics", usually they tend to be slow paced films that ultimately put me to sleep. But I started this in hopes of expanding my palette of film and maybe at some point actually appreciating some of the films most people coin as "classic".

For a classic, The Apartment is actually quite a simple film. Jack Lemmon is C.C. Baxter a lowly insurance man who finds a swift path up the corporate ladder by allowing the executives above him to use his apartment for their extra-martial affairs. These nightly affairs land Baxter out in the cold, and a false identity as a ladies man to his neighbors who believe he's the one entertaining different women on a nightly basis. Whenever he attempts to end the loaning of his apartment it only seems to get him promoted higher within the company, ultimately giving him a reason to continue and live with his arrangement. It's not until Baxter discovers the elevator operator he's been pinning for, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), is involved with one of his apartment subletors and boss Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), that he begins to rethink the fact that he's letting people walk all over him only to gain a position in his career which is ultimately bringing him no more happiness in his life.

The Apartment attempts to deal with extra-martial affairs and corporate bribery in a rather whimsical way, stopping on a few occassions to throw in a little dramatic flare into the mix. In today's morality, or lack there of, The Apartment's storyline is nothing that can't be seen in a nightly sitcom, or in any other numerous films that have had seemingly the exact plot. Does this put a damper on the quality of this film? No, but it does leave the door open to suggest there are film's later on that were able to take it's example and expand upon it, make this subject possibly more entertaining. Ultimately, I have no criticisms on the films acting, the direction or even the story itself it's all well done, my problem is pacing. For such a simple story, The Apartment takes way too long to tell it, whether this be its use of repetition or just a slow flow in general, there wasn't enough going on to substantiate 125 minutes.

Now here's where I'm really going to get it, but I'll say it anyways, I much more enjoyed the obvious knock off entitled For Love or Money starring Michael J. Fox. Why? Because in 96 minutes that film accomplishes most of what The Apartment does (minus the more dramatic moments) in about 30 minutes less and left me more entertained. Overall, The Apartment gets docked on it's pacing in an overly simplistic story, chop 30 minutes off this film and I would have loved it too. I just wasn't awed, only mildly entertained and it's doubtful I will ever revisit The Apartment, though I did enjoy the small cameo by famed Mayberry drunk Otis Campell (Hal Smith) who was ironically playing a drunk Santa.

7/10