Roughly Speaking (1945)

Roughly Speaking was a pleasant little surprise when I caught it recently, like a lot of others I had never heard of it before. Russell is her always competent self and there is a bit of her future role of Auntie Mame in this performance. I have come to appreciate Jack Carson much more than I used to now that I am seeing a larger body of his work thanks to TCM and he is terrific in this playing against his usual type. IMHO it's his best performance at Warner's, just squeaking out his in The Hard Way.There is chemistry galore between Roz and Jack and that's what makes the picture work. They do indeed seem to be enjoying it and without Carson this could have been a boring weeper. Supporting cast is excellent, particularly the great Ray Collins. The only exception is Robert Hutton as the Son. Mr. Hutton was always hampered by the fact that he couldn't act.I think it rates a solid 7.5 Lastly, is it me, or does this film decidedly not feel like a Michael Curtiz helmed picture? Someone else tried to contrast it to Mildred Pierce which is wholly unfair...they are distinctly different types of films.

Roughly Speaking is a Warner Brothers picture that has a feel-good quality to it. And in some ways it functions as propaganda, convincing the average viewer that life is full of ups and downs and that she can muster the courage to continue, despite the odds. Rosalind Russell is the star of this film, and her character learns the hard way about men- marriage-and-love. Jack Carson is the big lug she identifies as her main squeeze. Their undeniable chemistry leads one to wonder why they hadn't been paired on screen before.Not so delicately but roughly speaking the script could have withstood some revisions. There is an amusing vacuum cleaner demonstration scene, but some of the comic episodes do not exactly lead anywhere. And just what is the theme of this movie? That a woman can find love again? Or that her family must brace for difficulty and war?

Long after this movie's release, the term "Slice of Life" was coined to describe films such as this. I dislike labels, and I especially tend to dislike modern films for which this term was coined. However, it seems like an apt label for this movie which I paradoxically love. (This comment provides as much insight into film history as it does into my own character.) I admit to being a sentimentalist. Consequently Slice of Life films from the thirties to the late forties usually appeal to me far more than later films. A lot of Slice of Life movies since the late forties seem to me to be rather pointless, rather tragic - or worse - both! Like any art form, films express the ethos of the culture in which they are made. I sometimes lament the passing of the society that produced Slice of Life films from the thirties to the late forties...Roughly Speaking is a film that is full of tragic events, but none seem pointless or even tragic. In that sense it is moralistic. As their dialog during the film's fadeout clearly indicates, Rosalind Russell and Jack Carson seem made for each other in their twin indomitable spirits. That spirit imbues this entire film with optimism. If the film seems at times to be overly sentimental (even maudlin to some), I think it is because today most people think of that kind of optimism, itself, as overly sentimental. Raised by parents who experienced the Great Depression and WWII, I can imagine a time when such optimism was not deemed overly sentimental or unbelievable. This film epitomizes that time and those people, and it speaks to my heart and soul. It inspires me and makes me yearn today for such a milieu, in a retrospective way that was not possible for audiences at the time of the film's release. So, for me this movie has grown in stature and improved with age.Russell is one of those actresses who is capable of delivering a performance that evokes laughter and yet tugs at your heartstrings. Carson is not usually seen in roles that offer him the opportunity to portray such nuanced characters. Here he is, and he shines. He was one of the era's great "second bananas." When I see him in a film such as this or Mildred Pierce, I regret that he wasn't given more meaty, starring roles. In this movie Russell is the strength and Carson is the vision - they are a great team, and I enjoyed seeing them grow old together.The ending does come rather abruptly. Yet for those who lived through WWII, there is enough foreshadowing for the rest of the story to be imagined in a general sense. Hardly any family that sent as many sons to the war was blessed to see them all return home. This family had seen plenty of hardship, and would, no doubt, see more. But it would overcome...This doesn't seem overly sentimental to me - just optimistic.

Until I happened to catch it on the Turner Classic Movies channel, I'd never heard of Roughly Speaking. It turns out to be a charming and genuinely funny romantic comedy, set during the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. Roz Russell and Jack Carson, as a married couple raising a family, keep us wondering what crazy scheme they will cook up next in order to survive hard times. Their optimism is contagious. This family laughs a lot, especially when everything is going wrong, and it's real laughter--the kind that makes me laugh along with them. The ending seemed kind of abrupt, but apart from that, I found this movie great fun and often quite touching.