The Awful Truth is another of Hollywood's greatest comedies, a movie that no one who loves movies can fail to discover and ultimately love. It is the film that finally made Cary Grant a star after years of coming close, and it also stars Irene Dunne, an incredibly under-rated and now nearly forgotten star of the first rank. Her range from sparkling comedies such as this an "Theodora Goes Wild" to "Showboat" (1936--the undisputed best version) and "Anna and the King of Siam" (the progenitor to "The King and I") and on to soap operas and dramas ,"I Remember Mama" is just phenonenal. She really was that rarest of actresses who could nearly do it all. The supporting cast in this sophisticated, ultra-witty piece includes Ralph Bellamy in one of his best "guy loses the girl" roles and the droll and irresistible Cecil Cunningham, who made too few films. There, of course is the dog, Mr. Smith, played by the same dog from "The Thin Man" movies. "The Awful Truth" had a checkered history with everyone thinking they were working on a disaster at the time. Instead, the results are golden, not only one of the greatest screen comedies, but one of the rarest of Hollywood films that actually looks seriously at love, sex and marriage and all their complicated permutations. Must see viewing.
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