Robert J. Maxwell
"My Man Godfrey", of which this is a virtual remake, was tainted slightly by a strain of silliness that didn't grow out of the plot but seemed inserted later, as an afterthought. "Merrily We Live" is almost all like an afterthought.I don't mean to be too polyphenolic about it. It's an amusing diversion. But it's a whole lot more amusing if you haven't seen "My Man Godfrey" yet.In the earlier film, there was an inherent absurdity in the contrast between William Powell's immaculate, articulate, and super-polite butler and the lunatic family he served. Brian Aherne's newly hired chauffeur isn't a Boston-bred Harvard graduate. He's more of an Everyman. The family springs its nonsense on him with éclat and he responds with aplomb. Instead of being willingly bound in the role of chauffeur, he wanders around the estate at will, making remarks about the diseases of roses and such. The gags aren't particularly funny. One longs for lines like Carole Lombard's, "If others can have children, why can't OTHERS have children?" Let me put it this way. Watch this before you watch "My Man Godfrey," because this compares poorly.
SimonJack
No wonder this movie received five Academy Award nominations! The script, the antics, the characters, and the plot make "Merrily We Live" a riot of laughter from start to finish. The plots of screwball comedies often ramble all over the place as does this one.Constance Bennett has top billing, and she is good as Jerry Kilbourne. But Billie Burke and Brian Aherne carry the film, with major contributions by Alan Mowbray and Clarence Kolb. Burke's wacky Mrs. Kilbourne is the core around which the insane household carries on. Aherne's Wade Rawlins plays perfectly off her lines and all others. Billie Burke, hair-brained as always, in some films sometimes becomes tiring or seems not quite to fit after a time. But here she delivers perfectly with an overflow of deft and daffy humor. It seems infectious and invites others in unwittingly. Her performance here reminds me of Gracie Allen, arguably the best ding-bat persona comedienne ever. Burke was nominated for an Oscar as best supporting actress for this film. But she has daffy rivals, including almost every character with at least one guffaw. Alan Mowbray, always a delight as a butler or man servant in comedies, has one of his largest roles here. His Grosvenor, the butler, may be his funniest and best performance. Clarence Kolb, who usually plays gruff older patriarchs and businessmen, does so again but with a wonderful touch of humor here. He is riotous as Mr. Kilbourne. The rest of the cast are good and finish the window dressing fr the film. I mentioned that "Merrily We Live" got five nominations for Oscars in 1938. There was great competition among all films that year, with 10 nominated for best picture. Another screwball comedy – "You Can't Take It With You," won the best picture Oscar. It's one of the very best screwball comedies of all time. But I think "Merrily We Live" is just as good. I suspect that it didn't get a best picture nomination because of all the other comedies that year, including the two that were nominated. And, because its cast didn't have quite the big names. "You Can't Take It With You" included James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold and Spring Byington. This film may hold the record for the most people fainting, especially in one scenario. It's one of the funniest segments I've ever seen in a movie. And, those who didn't faint were falling all over the floor – one person (Mr. Kilbourne) fell a few times. The Kilbourne's have two large dogs. The first one's name is "Get Off the Rug," and the other's name is "You Too." Each morning, these lines are repeated as people come down to breakfast. "Good morning, Get Off the Rug. Good morning, You Too." It's a riot, but it goes by so fast. Some day I may sit down and try to rank my film favorites in various genres. Right now, I would say "Merrily We Live" is high on my list of screwball comedies. It would surely be in the top 10, and maybe in the top five. I heartily recommend this movie for great laughs and fun.Here are some Sample lines -- the humor of which is enhanced by the visual scenes. But, one can get an idea. For more funny dialog, see the Quotes section on this IMDb Web page of the movie. Wade is walking backwards to leave and Jerry says, "Is that the way you always walk?" Wade, "Yes. Oh, I don't care where I'm going. I like to see where I've been."Jerry, "Pa! If anyone tells you you look good this morning, slug 'em."Mrs. Kilbourne is teaching Wade Rawlins how to serve at a formal table. Mrs. K, "Oh, no, Rawlins. You must always serve from the left." Rawlins, "Um, this is your left, madam." Mrs. K, "Oh, so it is. I get mixed up sometime. You see, I'm right handed." Rawlins "Well, I was pretending I was a left-handed butler." Mrs. K, "Oh, that's different. Then you're doing splendidly."Senator, "If ever you are in Washington, you must come visit us." Mrs. K, "Thank you so much. But I was there once, during the last coronation." (The senator looks askance.)Senator, "Say, Kilbourne. They tell me there's a very eccentric woman in this district. Heh. It seems she has a hobby of inviting hobos into her home and trying to reform them. Ha, ha, ha, ha." Mrs. K, "Ho, ho, ho. What's wrong with that?" Senator, "What's wrong with that? Suppose one was sitting here right now?"Mrs. K, "Senator, tell me more about the woman who's nuts." Later, "I'm so glad you could all come. Because if you hadn't, I don't know what we would have done with all the food."Mr. Kilbourne, "Isn't there any respect at all in this family?" Jerry, "Don't get discouraged, pop. There must be."Jerry, "Oh, I'm just making some fudge." Wade, "With pickles?" Jerry, "Oh, yes. I always make my fudge with pickles."Mr. Kilbourne, "Listen, young lady. What's the idea of getting home so early and scaring people?"
MartinHafer
This is hardly an original film, as it was apparently a variation on the 1930 film WHAT A MAN. Plus, it's amazingly similar to the 1936 hit film, MY MAN GODFREY. However, despite being so unoriginal, the overall film is amazingly watchable and a lot of fun.Like in GODFREY, the rich family that is the focus of the film is amazingly ditsy and....well, nuts! Unlike GODFREY, most of the insanity is concentrated into the mother (played by Billie Burke)--though as the film progresses, you come to realize they're all touched! As for Burke, her stupid schtick wears thin at the beginning of the film (making you wonder why the other family members haven't killed her). But, fortunately, as the film continues, she is given such wonderful lines of dialog that I really am glad they didn't kill her. Additionally, the rest of the family's dialog was great as well--showing that the writers were really hitting their mark.The film is about Burke's bizarre habit of bringing home hobos to rehabilitate them, though in many ways they were treated more like pets or toys than people. The rest of the family is sick of this because the hobos are usually thieves or opportunists, so it's no wonder that when Brian Aherne is taken in by Burke that the rest of the family is angry and wants Aherne to go. However, what's really strange is that although Aherne is dressed like a bum, he never WANTS to be saved by Burke and he more or less becomes a part of the family against his will! As the film progresses, like Godfrey, Aherne is obviously more than just a man down on his luck--leading to a dandy conclusion.The film has excellent and well-paced direction, wonderful writing and an excellent ensemble cast. It is actually quite surprising that this film isn't more well-known, as it's one of the better comedies of the 1930s.
