The Palm Beach Story - Classic Romantic Comedy Film DVD | Perfect for Date Nights, Movie Marathons & Vintage Film Lovers

Preston Sturges' 1942 comedy gem "The Palm Beach Story" posits that people are so unused to good fortune that when it's dropped right into their laps, they have no idea what to do with it. And those people include the movie's audience.The movie begins with a whirlwind exposition sequence which explains absolutely nothing. It's Sturges' nose-thumbing at movies which have nothing *but* exposition. He seems to be saying, "Must we explain everything from the get-go? Have some patience on this trip, and I'll get you there."Soon enough, we meet Tom (Joel McCrea), a frustrated construction designer, and Jerry (Claudette Colbert), his equally frustrated wife. They live in a posh apartment but are constantly dodging bill collectors, until Jerry's chance run-in with a meat mogul known as "The Weenie King." (You think that's flouting the censors? Wait until you see Sturges's "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" [1944].) When the Weenie King hears of Jerry's financial plight, he gives her a wad of money just because she's so darned cute. (Once you see Claudette Colbert, this will seem a bit more plausible.)Far from feeling relieved, Tom is displeased that Jerry solved their financial woes with only a little flirting. Jerry counters that everything in life is "about sex" (Note to censors: Flout-flout), and eventually she leaves Tom and sets out on her own, solely to prove that she can get whatever she needs in life just by being a woman.It's never shown whether Jerry proves this to herself or not. But along the way, she meets some memorable characters: the Ale and Quail Club (headed by Sturges veteran William Demarest); a millionairess (delightful Mary Astor) and her foreign-speaking boyfriend; and a soft-spoken yachtsman (Rudy Vallee), who falls for Jerry even after she accidentally breaks all of his pairs of glasses. All of these people love to talk, and Sturges obliges them with enough epigrams for a New Year's bash.And for those who think Sturges couldn't direct as well as he wrote, I recommend the scene where a tipsy Tom and Jerry discuss their impending divorce. The scene begins with Tom trying to unzip the back of Jerry's dress for her, and it ends as one of the swooniest love scenes it has ever been my pleasure to witness.And just when you think the movie has run out of steam, Sturges pulls a happy ending out of his hat that has you laughing through the closing credits. Smart and smarter--now, *there's* a trend Hollywood should have pursued.