Category: Comedies - Comedy - Comedy Video - Feature Film-comedy - Movie
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DVD Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Cary Grant stars as an advertising executive who dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems. (See the 1980s Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit for an updated version of the same idea.) The big appeal here are the two leads, Grant and Myrna Loy, who were each in their early 40s and at the peak of their careers. Together with solid support from Melvyn Douglas and a screenplay that might have been tailor-made for their polished brand of comedy, the stars dominate this simple project. --Tom Keogh
Review(s): DVD Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Mr. Blandings builds his Dream House
Very entertaninly funny movie. One of my favorite of all Cary Grant movies; next to William Powell, Cary Grant is the best match for Myrna Loy. She shines in the spotlight in this film. This film is great to watch when you need an escape to laughter.
Nightmare House
I know they run only nonfiction shows, but HGTV should rerun "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" regularly, just as a warning to starry-eyed homeowners. Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are absolutely hilarious in this homebuyer's comedy, but the real star is their dream house.... and the hideous flaws with it.
The Blandings family live in a New York apartment, where they fight daily for closet and bathroom space. But then Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) gets a brilliant idea -- buy a charming house in the country, fix it up, and live in rural charm. Unfortunately, he quickly gets tangled up in a heap of mortgage problems, and gets cheated by the former owner.
And once those are sorted out, they get professional opinions ("Tear it down!") which lead to major demolition. Undaunted, Jim and Muriel (Myrna Loy) help design a brilliant new house, only to encounter a new array of setbacks. As Jim tries to deal with the strain, he suspects that his marriage is coming apart.
Personally I consider having a new house built to be from the fifth circle of hell, especially if you have to oversee the details yourself. Apparently HC Potter did too, since the movie is crammed with subtle jabs at demanding homebuyers, trendy decorators, and those guys who send the windowpanes to the wrong town.
The movie basically trundles along the increasingly bumpy road of buying land and building a house, although it becomes somewhat slack when Jim suspects that Muriel is cheating on him. Fortunately the dialogue is hilarious from beginning to end ("The house just needs someone to love it, that's all!" "Good thing there are two of you. One to love it and one to hold it up").
Mr. Blandings reminds me of some homebuyers I'm related to -- he has more optimism than any person can have, unless he is completely out of touch with reality. And Cary Grant makes you laugh WITH and AT Jim. Loy is solid and witty as the long-suffering wife, and Melvyn Douglas does his dry best as their best buddy.
The moral of this movie: Pursuing your dream house will probably be a nonstop nightmare, even if you look like Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. So beware.
Hilarious comedy
Due to his daughters growing up Mr. Blandings' house becomes a little too small. By buying a nice old house in the country the problem seems to be solved; however, the house turns out to be a money pit. One downfall after another brings the family to the edge of bankruptcy. Nice old comedy starring Cary Grant as the ever optimistic (and somewhat grumpy) Mr. Blandings and Myrna Loy as his spouse that hasn't got a clue to what minor changes in the architecture may cost.
Considering the movie is from 1948 it is remarkably sparkling as if it was made yesterday.
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