NAME — Tommaso Verderame
AGE — 14
The Apartment (1960) |
Director: Billy Wilder; Length: 125 minutes; List price on DVD: $14.98 |
NOT RATED -- minimal swearing, some mature subject matter |
On a scale of 1 to 5 YPs, Y-Press recommends: YP-YP-YP-Y |
The Apartment is a witty story centered around Bud's rapid climb up the career ladder from a lonely office drone to the second-in-command of New York's largest insurance firm.
Winner of 1960's Oscar for Best Picture, The Apartment is the only comedy to ever be nominated -- and capture -- the coveted award. It won four additional academy awards.
In the movie, Bud (Jack Lemmon from Some Like it Hot) befriends his many superiors, including the business' owner J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray from Double Indemnity), in order to obtain a series of undeserved promotions. Al the while, he's courting the lovely Fran Kubelik. She's played by Shirley MacLaine, who was nominated for best actress, but didn't win that honor until 1983 for a different movie, Terms of Endearment.
How does Bud exactly become his bosses' favorites? Why do his bosses continually promote him instead of a veteran employee?
Hint: It has nothing to do with skill, and all to do with his bosses' mid-life crises - Bud provides his apartment as a refuge for his bosses to philander while their wife and kids are away.
Bud soon finds himself having to sleep outside or in the hallway almost every night while his bosses continually (mis)use the apartment. Word soon gets out to the head of the entire insurance firm - J.D. Sheldrake. Instead of firing Bud for his blatant abuse of company code, J.D. begans to use the apartment himself!
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Who is J.D. Sheldrake's lover? Watch the movie to find out. Ultimately, Bud must make his biggest executive decision yet: Does he follow his head or his heart?
While this movie makes light of spouses cheating on one another, it is done in a humorous way that is acceptable for all audiences. For example, there are no sexual scenes or swearing. Despite the nature of the film, it doesn't support extramarital affairs as normal or just.
The Apartment was the last classic black-and-white film to win a best picture Academy Award. The more contemporary Shindler's List won best picture in 1993 and was in black and white.
The end is heartwarming and fulfilling. Both my mother and 8-year-old sister greatly enjoyed the film. My mother, selective with the movies she allows my sister to watch, deemed The Apartment acceptable, which is why I say that it is a must-see for the whole family.