This featherweight romantic comedy pairs Loretta Young with her frequent leading man David Niven as a couple celebrating their 10th anniversary who realize underneath all the sugar talk they've grown indifferent to each other. Not helping things are their parents, who have always not quite approved of their child's choice of spouse. A spat leads to divorce proceedings and Loretta's old flame Eddie Albert suddenly emerges while longtime "friend" Virginia Field sees her chance now with Niven. There's nothing really funny going on despite Charlie Ruggles and ZaSu Pitts in the supporting cast in quite trivial roles. Loretta looks gorgeous of course, especially in some classic Edith Head fashions and the film casts her as a career woman but the movie while quite watchable is just not very interesting. Child actress Nina Griffith is pleasant as Young and Niven's daughter caught in the middle of their war; according to IMDb, this is her only film.
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HarlowMGM14 January 2006
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mark.waltz9 November 2011No, there is no Barbra Streisand ballad to express the flaws of adults in relationships, just a neurotic wife (Loretta Young) who goes a little nutty on her 10th wedding anniversary to dashing hubby David Niven, suddenly demanding a divorce. The problem, as the title suggests, is that their marriage is perfect-in fact, too perfect. In short, boring. They admit that they haven't wanted each other for a year, even though they seem to get along splendidly in spite of a rocky start to their relationship. The problems they do have include mothers who can't stand each other yet separately interfere over the objections of their own husbands, a few toxic friends who want to see their perfect little world smashed, and Young's ex-boyfriend (Eddie Albert) who happens to turn up just as the gossip about the divorce gets around the social club they hang out in.
Yes, this is very similar to Claire Booth Luce's classic play and the 1939 MGM movie "The Women", although the husband doesn't stray at all here. The leading characters are somewhat flawed but basically nice people, successful in their career, and devoted to their precocious daughter (Nina Griffith). All of the supporting women, however, are as one of Norma Shearer's pals in "The Women" commented, "females". Not one Lucille Watson in the bunch. The film seems to give the impression that women are either neurotic innocents or calculating cats. Young comes off as basically nice, but touched with moments of moodiness, insecurity, and somewhat scatterbrained in spite of the fact that she is a top fashion magazine editor. The closest to a non-female "lady" is housekeeper Zasu Pitts who is basically a gloomy gus that gets more pleasure from horror movies than musicals, sort of a flittery Mrs. Danvers.
Paramount, the art-decco king of Hollywood's sophisticated comedies of the 1930's, hits gold here. The art direction is simply divine, and Loretta Young is decked out here in the finest clothes horse fashions since Kay Francis. Poor Nina Griffith suffers in that department. One outfit she wears makes her look like a pint-sized nun. She does well in a role that Natalie Wood might have brought too many tears to, and is equally as plucky as Virginia Wiedler was in the same type of role (with a similar plot) in "The Women".
As for Eddie Albert, he is obviously stuck in the Ralph Bellamy role, and it is so apparent where the plot is going. As for Ms. Young, she seems a tad too mature for her Rita Hayworth like long flowing hair, even though she's still quite stunning. There are laughs, but they come through more of a snicker than much needed gut busters. You just pray that these adults will wake up, see the silliness of their ways (especially Young's character) and get rid of the toxic friends and maddening mothers-in-laws who have been trying to topple their "perfect" world. -
planktonrules29 March 2018"The Perfect Marriage" is a rom-com that suffers from a very serious problem...you really don't care about the couple and the script gave you no reason to! It's also occasionally painful to watch, as listening to two people who grow to hate each other isn't something most would enjoy.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams (David Niven and Loretta Young) have been married for ten years and have every reason to be happy. In fact, when the story begins they are happy...unaware that their marriage is in serious trouble. They have interfering in-laws, they both have jobs that mean everything to them and they have separate bedrooms. To make it worse, Mr. Williams is grouchy and admits that he doesn't really care about their daughter! Soon they're at each other's throats and are seeking a divorce. Wow...seems like a Hallmark film or a sweet romance novel!
Overall, the film seemed like a waste of some talented actors. I don't find divorce or people tearing each other apart fun or interesting....so the movie lost me early on in the story. -
HotToastyRag21 March 2018There's a scene early on in The Perfect Marriage in which David Niven and Loretta Young are describing their meet-cute to their nine-year-old daughter, Nona Griffith. It's a ridiculous, unbelievable story, and I wondered if they were making it up to give Nona something outrageous to dream of, like a fairy tale. But no, it was real. They met ten years ago, shown in a flashback, when David Niven's house was on fire, and Loretta and her family were among the friends and neighbors helping haul buckets to put it out. Niven sees her beauty, puts his hose down and approaches her. Suddenly they get in an argument that lasts through the evening. Then, they both can't sleep and coincidentally meet in the kitchen. He grabs a chicken leg and criticizes the way she's playing her solitaire card game. Just as suddenly, they kiss and fall in love.
If that sounds ridiculous to you, you're not going to like this movie. The entire movie doesn't make sense. Niv and Loretta have been married for ten years, yet the fights they have sound like the kinds of fights newlyweds have. They act like they don't know each other at all, and their tactics to make each other jealous or mad are juvenile. Also, their daughter is far from endearing and overacts every line.
As much as I love David Niven, this isn't his best movie. The script is silly at best and irritating at worst. If the plot starred an engaged couple, their fights would have been more believable, but not a pair who've had ten years to get iron out their creases. Plus, I'm not really a Loretta Young fan. Had Myrna Loy been cast in this role, she might have saved the movie. When Loretta's snotty, she comes across as conceited. When Myrna's snotty, she's cute.