Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a nebbishy office worker who has worked
out a deal with some of his superiors, allowing them to use his apartment
to meet with their mistresses. This is often a somewhat inconvenient
arrangement, but it has gotten him in the good graces of the people
who have control over his career.
The arrangement has been starting to get on Baxter's nerves, since
he no longer has free access to his own place. Having once said yes
to his superiors, he doesn't feel he can now tell them no. Things get
more complicated when he pursues a romance of his own with the bright-spirited
elevator girl, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine).
Everything about The Apartment is compact, from the minimal
number of characters to the fact that there are only two main sets (the
office and Baxter's apartment) for much of the movie. This characterizations,
plot and dialogue are outstanding, so that the viewer gets engaged in
this sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking story.
Lemmon is perfectly cast as Baxter, who has a quirky charm. On one
hand, he's a bit of a pushover, but on the other, he masks stronger
emotions. He reconciles those aspects of himself by copious use of self-deprecating
humor, and he's given to quirky speech patterns (such as adding "-wise"
to the end of words). In certain scenes, as he forces a smile, you can
almost hear his heart breaking. It's no surprise he works so well in
the role, as Wilder and screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond had him in mind
when writing the part.
As the perky elevator girl, MacLaine shows range: going from bubbly
to melancholy and hitting several notes in between. It might be strange
for modern viewers to watch the woman we all know for her strong, non-nonsense
roles as a young ingenue, but that is, after all, how she got started.
MacLaine was given only 40 pages of the script initially, because Wilder
didn't want her to know how the story would turn out. Of course, she
thought that was because the script wasn't finished. While that's not
true, it is true that some portions were added during the filming, such
as the gin rummy game and some lines that came from Shirley MacLaine
philosophizing about love during a lunch break.
Fred MacMurray plays against type as Baxter's philandering boss, a
role which was just as jarring to contemporary audiences as it is to
today's viewers. He plays it surprisingly well. You'll probably never
watch My Three Sons again without wondering if Steve Douglas
is also hiding a darker side.
This movie is often characterized as a comedy, but it's more aptly
categorized as a dramedy, since it contains elements of each. The
Apartment may seem like light fare when compared to such weighty
epics as Ben Hur, but it addresses big issues, such as loyalty,
ambition, self-respect, and of course, the nature of love and friendship.
Sensing the potential in the story, Neil Simon adapted the screenplay
for the 1968 musical, Promises, Promises, which featured the
hit song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, "What Do You Get When
You Fall in Love?"
Several sources, including Premiere and the American Film Institute,
have ranked this movie among the best films of all time. Although it
was made nearly 50 years ago, this film still feels just as current
and relevant today. It may have more subdued production values than
many Best Picture winners, but The Apartment is big in terms
of emotion.
