Monkey Business (1952)

Another Marilyn movie for me! Though, I don't understand why she's on the cover of the movie poster, seeing as she's more of a secondary character…but Monkey Business was such a cute, old comedy and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Barnaby has been looking for the perfect combination to finally make the fountain of youth pill for his company. When a monkey they're experimenting on gets loose and messes with the chemicals, he creates a formula that gets accidentally mixed into the water cooler. Barnaby gets a dose of the mixture and starts to act like a teenager again, buying a new shiny car and going roller skating with his pretty secretary. His wife takes an even larger dose, and proves that the more you take, the younger you act. Their relationship is put to the test as they try to figure out exactly how they got the formula to work.

Like I said, this movie was so much fun. While it dealt with the difficulties and trust issues in marriage, there was a lighter edge to it when the characters started to act younger and younger. And look at how adorable that monkey is! He would cuddle up with Barnaby and be the cutest darn thing. Who could be mad at something with a face like that?

I thought it was fun when Barnaby spent the whole day he felt like a teenager with Marilyn Monroe's character. He was so uptight and out of it in the beginning of the movie, and he really let go when he took the solution. He drove his new car like a maniac and did all of the things his body couldn't do anymore when he was older. Then, when his wife started acting like a 12-year-old, things got even crazier. She was playing pranks left and right and wearing her now normal-aged husband out. Who knew having a wife could be so tiring?

 

The youth solution definitely put Barnaby's relationship with his wife to the test, and brought them closer. Even though old insecurities about past boyfriends/relationships resurfaced when they were "younger" thanks to the solution, Barnaby and his wife learned just how valuable their relationship as a married couple really is.

Screwball comedies are definitely becoming one of my favorite genres to watch. They're so simple and fun, and I can't get enough of them! Check out Monkey Business on Netflix now to get a good old dose of Marilyn Monroe and realizing youth isn't all it's cracked up to be.