DbcultAccessing Vault...
6.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. She Done Him Wrong remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should watch She Done Him Wrong if you have any interest in how movies used to actually be funny before everything became so sanitized. If you hate old-fashioned stage-play pacing or people who talk with that specific 1930s mid-Atlantic accent, you might find it a bit of a slog. But honestly? It is short, it is dirty in all the right ways, and Mae West is a force of nature.
Mae doesn't walk through a scene; she sort of sashays while the rest of the cast tries to keep up. There is a moment where she looks at a piece of jewelry and just sighs, and you know exactly how much it cost and how many people she had to swindle to get it. It is pure charisma.
Cary Grant is in this too, looking very young and very earnest as a mission worker. It is kind of funny seeing him so straight-laced when you know what he becomes later. He has this wide-eyed look that is almost like he is trying to figure out if he is actually in on the joke or if he is just lucky to be standing next to her.
There is this one scene where a guy tries to act tough, and Mae just shuts him down with a single line. She does not even blink. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Three Must-Get-Theres, where everything feels like it might fall apart at any second. Except here, Mae is holding all the strings.
Is it a masterpiece of high art? Probably not. Does it make you want to go back to a time where everyone just sat around singing and drinking gin? Maybe. It’s got a weird, bouncy rhythm that you don't really see anymore. 🍸
The whole thing feels like a 60-minute wink at the audience. By the time the credits roll, you realize the plot didn't actually matter, but you had a blast watching her navigate it. It makes some of the more serious films from that era, like La dame de Monsoreau, seem incredibly heavy in comparison.
Don't look for deep meaning. Just look at the way she handles that silk dress.
IMDb —
1926
Community
Log in to comment.
