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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. I Like It That Way remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you're a sucker for that specific brand of 1930s musical-drama fluff. If you need your movies to be tight and logical, you’ll probably hate this. But if you like watching people try to navigate a world that doesn't really care about their talent, it's a decent enough way to kill an hour.
Gloria Stuart is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She plays a switchboard operator who decides she's meant for better things, which is the kind of motivation that movies like A Preferred List usually turn into a full-blown tragedy. Here, it’s mostly just a series of rooms and bad managers.
The whole thing has this weird, frantic energy. It feels like everyone involved was running on way too much coffee. There's a moment where she’s practicing her singing and the room just feels too quiet, like the sound person forgot to turn the background noise back up after a take. It’s tiny, but it sticks with you.
I caught myself wondering if the script writers, like Chandler Sprague, just got bored halfway through. Some of the dialogue sounds like it was written on the back of a napkin during lunch. It doesn't have the polish of something like Accused, but it has this raw, unpretentious feeling that I kind of liked.
Don't look for deep meaning. It’s not trying to save the world. It’s just a girl with a dream, a bunch of guys in suits, and a lot of stage lights. It’s not exactly One Week in terms of craft, but it’s got enough grit to keep you watching until the credits roll. 🎙️
Also, the hats. The hats in this movie are absolutely wild. I don't know who was in charge of costumes, but they definitely had a point to prove.