DbcultAccessing Vault...
Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have a soft spot for black-and-white talkies where people drink tea and fret about their social standing, As Husbands Go is a perfectly fine way to kill an hour. It’s light, airy, and moves along without demanding too much of your brain cells. That said, if you’re looking for high drama or something that breaks the mold, stay away. This is pure, low-stakes comfort food.
Lucille is the kind of character you want to shake. She spends the first half of the film pining for some European charm, acting like Iowa is a death sentence. It’s honestly a little exhausting watching her turn her nose up at her own perfectly nice life. But then again, we’ve all had those moments where we come back from a vacation and realize our laundry pile is exactly where we left it.
The best part of the whole thing isn't the romantic tension—which is pretty thin, let's be honest—but the fishing trip. Watching the husband, Charles, actually hit it off with the suave guy from Paris is the kind of weird, unexpected friendship that makes the movie work. It’s funny because it’s so human. They just get drunk, talk about life, and suddenly the 'other man' realizes that being a sophisticated bachelor is actually kind of a drag.
There’s a weird, stiff quality to the pacing that feels like a play being filmed rather than a movie breathing on its own. Sometimes the dialogue snaps back and forth like a tennis match, and you can practically hear the stage directions. It doesn’t have the grit of The Eyes of the Mummy, but then again, it’s not trying to be a moody thriller, is it?
Is it groundbreaking? No. Does it capture that weird, hollow feeling of wanting something you don't have, only to realize you didn't really want it anyway? Yeah, it actually does. Sometimes the simplest movies hit on that better than the big, serious ones. Plus, the clothes are sharp. I’d watch it just for the hats alone. 🎩
IMDb 6
1931
Community
Log in to comment.
