Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

I doubt I'd seen it since the 1980s so I couldn't even recall that it takes place in 1929. I definitely forgot how violent it is. And after the absurdly hilarious train berth scene (matching Preston Sturges in zaniness if not import), it's not all that funny. In fact, I assume Wilder moved beyond cross-dressing gags into a meditation on gender/sexual fluidity with the express purpose of getting under the skin of a mainstream 1959 audience. Osgood's (Joe E. Brown) classic final line is one thing but consider Joe (Tony Curtis) in full Josephine drag while wearing his Shell Oil Junior hat and glasses (itself a "false" costume) or Daphne (or is that Gerald?) (Jack Lemmon) almost imperceptibly growing affectionate toward Osgood. And consider that Psycho was just a year way. After all these years, still an exceedingly odd, disturbing film. 

Oh and Joe as Josephine was gorgeous!

Grade: A-minus