Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Stephanie
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Skyler
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
dougdoepke
Sometimes amusing madcap, but not front-rank. The premise is a clever one—a falling mink coat elevates a working girl's life from a cheap flat to the penthouse. In the process, we get a humorous look at how reputation can make all the difference, especially among the rich and powerful. And how about that madcap eruption at the auto-mat. I'd almost forgotten about those serve-yourself banks of fast-food, something like an early McDonald's. Here, the goodie filled cubby-holes are turned into a hilarious free-for-all as hungry Depression era folks help themselves to a free lunch.Trouble is Jean Arthur has no one to really play off of, no Cary grant, so to speak. True, Ray Milland is her swain, but their scenes together are few and lack comedic spark. Then there's Edward Arnold as the bullying Wall Street tycoon. His constant yelling and abrasive manner, however, are more annoying than humorous, thus detracting from the overall mood. On the other hand, Arthur shows the engaging potential that often blossomed. Here, however, she's not really given the chance to sparkle, Arthur- fashion. Part of that is due to her many scenes with Luis Albernoni as the obnoxiously over-bearing Louis Louis.All in all, the film's something of a disappointment given the many talents involved. But it'll certainly do for a slow evening or a look at lavish movie interiors.
Tad Pole
. . . then the dimmest bulbs must flicker on Wall Street, and EASY LIVING proves that this fact was as well known to Americans in 1937 as it is today. The proverbial one-eyed man may be king in the Land of the Blind, but EASY LIVING illustrates why the possession of even one eye might be a definite handicap for the high rollers of Lower Manhattan. It's better to be completely blind, deaf, and dumb if you want to make your mark there. Jean Arthur plays "Mary Smith" in EASY LIVING, but she might as well be portraying Alice in Wonderland. Mary learns that among the rich, anything goes. The lifestyle props upon which they fritter away their wealth are so impractical and worthless, they constitute grounds for firing if displayed near a normal workplace. That's what happens to Mary when she inadvertently shows up wearing her "gift horse" (a sable fur coat) to work for her real people job. As this year's follow-up to EASY LIVING (THE BLING RING) shows, the forbidden candy most rich celebrities use to fill up their otherwise empty shell of lives can only corrupt NORMAL people (which helps explain why so many lottery winners soon off themselves). Since Mary Smith has a solid working class soul, she is oblivious to some of the temptations thrown her way in EASY LIVING, and triumphs over the rest, settling for live sheep dogs in lieu of murdered mink.
Lawson
Perhaps it was because this was before Preston Sturges took over directing his own screenplays but Easy Living feels like one of the lesser in his body of work. It does well as a screwball comedy but it isn't outstanding. As much as I love Jean Arthur, she isn't either, and Ray Milland just isn't suave enough to be a Cary Grant-esquire romantic lead. The cast just seems to be rolling along with the machinations of the plot, unlike say, Bringing Up Baby, in which Katharine Hepburn and Grant bring larger-than-life characters that prance along grandly with its screwball story. Easy Living does have some memorable scenes though, including the one at the automat - a Depression-era fast food place - in which a grand ol' food fight breaks out, though admittedly, I find it more memorable because of how novel I think the concept of the automat is.
krdement
My favorite films are from the '30s to the late '40s. Jean Arthur is one of my favorite actresses. Edward Arnold is one of my favorite character actors. I looked forward to this film with high expectations, but was very disappointed.The reason this movie disappointed me is difficult to pinpoint. Without more background, some elements of the story just don't seem to add up. There is a whole lot of yelling in this movie; that gets old. Oh yeah, and lots of slapstick. The Automat scene was waaaay too long. But mostly, the characters just don't seem quite on the mark. In addition to many great dramas, Miss Arthur's resume includes many of my favorite comedies: The Whole Town's Talking (1935), If You Could Only Cook (1935), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Town (1939), The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), The Talk of the Town (1942), The More the Merrier (1943), A Foreign Affair (1948). I recommend them all over Easy Living. I even prefer A Lady Takes a Chance (1943).As much as I love Jean Arthur, her character here isn't portrayed quite right. She is just too innocent and unquestioning of everything that happens. Her attitude should have been less naive and more like, "I don't really understand why this windfall has come my way, but I'm going to take advantage of it while I can." She needed to be less ingenuous and more opportunistic. Her idealism and optimism needed to be tempered by a little realistic skepticism.The character of the Hotelier (Luis Alberni) is an immigrant Italian chef who has learned fluent American slang somewhere, but also has opened a HUGE, opulent hotel for upper crust clientèle. So, he has this great ambition to run an elite hotel, but doesn't see the need to speak to his proposed clientèle any differently than the boys in the Bronx? PLUS, we don't know how he convinced the "Number 3" financier in New York to finance this operation. How much money did this humble chef bring with him when he immigrated from Italy? Moreover, Arnold, the shrewd banker, has extended the guy not 1, not 2, but 3 mortgages! AND the 1st mortgage is overdue by 3 YEARS, the 2nd by 2 YEARS and the 1st by 1 YEAR! Not consistent with Arnold's character at all!Ray Milland is pretty light weight, and he never infuses his character with more than 1 dimension.There isn't really a character with whom I could identify. For me, a successful screwball comedy needs one stable character for all of the silliness to revolve around. That gives the audience somebody to identify with and grounds the movie in some kind of reality. William Powell in My Man Godfrey and Brian Aherne in Merrily We Live are the best examples.I thought this movie was a lot of noise and action that never really drew me into the story. In sum, I felt like an outsider watching a movie. It never really tickled my funny bone or inspired my empathy as better comedies do.
