Julia Misbehaves (1948)

Just perfect...

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The light-hearted comedy intertwined with war drama in Mrs. Miniver gave the idea that the team of Greer Garson could handle screwy situations but after a few dramatic pot-boilers kept their work totally serious. MGM's comedies were a familiar bag of repeats but with teams like Loy and Powell and Hepburn and Tracy, they figured why mess with a successful formula?The situation here is a totally familiar one with larger elements of farce. Garson is estranged from her not so stuffy Pidgeon, working in a music hall show. She gets a letter inviting her to her daughter's wedding and ends up stirring up the pot in delirious confusion. Elizabeth Taylor, on the thresh of stardom, is the bride, and she seems more interested in reconciling her parents than her own fiancé. Along comes dashing Peter Lawford to stir up more confusion, and eventually the forgotten feelings of her parents emerge.Encounters with tamed seals and bears, a truly hideous music hall number and Garson's flight into a torrential downpour add on to interference by Lucile Watson as Pigeon's imperious mother and Cesar Romero and Nigel Bruce as admirers of Garson's do as well. Pretty silly going, there is never any doubt how this will play out. If it wasn't for the professional cast and tight direction by Jack Conway, this certainly would be more of a misfire.

I adore this nutty little film. I love Garson, Pidgeon, Taylor, and Lawford in almost any movie and particularly teamed together. Cesar Romero also adds flavor in a comedic supporting role. I enjoy classic and screwball comedies and have a long list made of those (this one is on it). Is this the best of the best? No, but it's fun and well made. That's a prerequisite for my list. I own it and still watch it each time it comes on TCM. Elizabeth Taylor, as the mutual daughter and young bride, is so young and lovely. She still has an innocence to her performance at this stage that I enjoy. Peter Lawford is young, suave, and cocky. Walter Pidgeon is typical Walter Pidgeon. But it's Greer Garson's movie and in it she shines. She produces screwball romantic comedy antics worthy of Irene Dunne or Jean Arthur. This is a must see for Garson fans. I highly recommend it to fans of any of the cast or of the genre. It's not perfect, but it sure entertains. And isn't that the point?

Now, you may say to yourself "Greer Garson **gasp** comedy?!" But this is actually a lovely movie about an actress who is attending her daughter's wedding. She hasn't seen her daughter in many years, since her husband, after "one year and two months (of marriage)... said 'Julia, I don't love you anymore. I think it's better if we separate.'" Julia was only invited by "accident", but one certain daughter insists that she stay, contrary to her grandmother's opinion. The film is very fun, if you don't have one of those minds that have type casted Greer Garson, and can't accept that she has a wider range than "Mrs. Miniver" type roles. She proves very adept at comedy, and also look for what seem to be "inside jokes" in some scenes.

"Julia Misbehaves" is a charming comedy filled with romance and touching moments. Greer Garson sparkles as Julia, a penniless showgirl who has been invited to attend the very formal wedding of her daughter, Elizabeth Taylor, whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Along the way, she encounters acrobat Cesar Romero and his wacky family, rich aristocrat Nigel Bruce with an eye for pretty girls, and estranged husband Walter Pidgeon who begins to wonder how he ever let her go in the first place. All of the interactions lead into one humorous complication after another and show off Ms. Garson's comedic timing that was rarely seen in her usual dramatic roles.