Movies You Should See: The More the Merrier

Title: The More The Merrier

Director: George Stevens

Stars: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn

Synopsis:  In crowded World War II Washington DC, Mr. Dingle (Charles Coburn) arrives for a meeting a few days early and finds that there is no room at his hotel due to a wartime housing storage.  Doing her patriotic duty Ms. Milligan (Jean Arthur) places a ad to rent out the spare room of her apartment which eventually goes to Mr. Dingle (through some slight trickery on his part).  Mr. Dingle then rents out half of the spare room to Joe (Joel McCrea) a GI on his way out of the country for a war assignment.  Despite Ms. Milligan being engaged, Mr. Dingle is convinced that Joe is the perfect match for her.

Why Should You Watch This:  All three leads have great comedic timing and while most of their scenes together rely on physical comedy which can feel old after seeing it once, after repeated viewings these scene still feel fresh and natural.  McCrea and Arthur have really great romantic chemistry and their courtship feels realistic.  But beyond all this, the script and the direction are just really well done, the script is at time funny and touching and the directing is done with such a light hand.  I have a little extra enjoyment for the movie now that I have lived in DC for a few years now.

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