''Adam's Rib'' (1949 film)- Review

Directed by: George Cukor
Released: 1949
Country: United States

Genre: Romantic comedy

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

In ''Adam's Rib'',  Adam (played by Spencer Tracy) and Amanda (Katherine Hepburn) are a married couple. Both of them are lawyers. Amanda strictly believes that women should have the same opportunity as men in every sector. She thinks that when it comes to law, women often don't get the same verdict that men do. When a case arises in which a woman, Doris Attinger (played by Judy Holliday) shot her husband when she discovered that the latter was having an affair, Adam has been given the task of prosecuting the case. Doris's husband (played by Tom Ewell) was only wounded, but charges have been brought against Doris for attempted murder. Amanda knows that Doris never attempted kill her husband or his lover, that this happened because Doris only wanted to frighten the two of them, and that Doris, having never intended to cause anything dangerous, deserves sympathy from the jury. Amanda decides to defend Doris in this case and she fights against her husband in the courtroom, where a hilarious situation ensues. 

The film shifts between pure comedy, romance and at times drama. The relationship between Adam and Amanda is really sweet. (The method which they implement to mock and tease each other while the hearings go on is really hilarious.) There is also a lot of comedy, both in the courtroom and in the house of Adam and Amanda. The case creates a tension in the relationship between Adam and Amanda, but even this is presented very funnily. Judy Holliday makes Doris a rather cute and funny character.

Although ''Adam's Rib'' is a very funny film, it can also be very thought-provoking at times. I really applauded for Amanda because of her strong belief that everybody should be equal in the eyes of law. Women should get the same justice that a man gets. In a particular scene in the film, Amanda asks the court to imagine Doris as a man and her husband as a woman. She knows that the jury would be more sympathetic to a man in such a circumstance and asks the court whether Doris would have been viewed with more sympathy had she been a man. Why should this inequality exists, she wonders. She believes that the time has come for women to be treated the way a man is treated. I completely agreed with her.

 I really liked this film. I liked the concept, laughed at the comedy, liked the romance, and found the chemistry between Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy really nice.