The Bride Comes Home: A breezy, if slightly messy, romantic scrap

Should you watch this one?

Honestly, if you like Claudette Colbert being the smartest person in any room, then yeah, go for it. If you have zero patience for movies from the 30s where the men are constantly shouting over each other, you’ll probably want to skip this. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it’s got a certain spark that most modern stuff misses.

Colbert is basically the anchor here. She plays a socialite who has to figure out how to be a normal person again, and she’s just effortlessly funny. She makes the transition from 'fancy lady' to 'magazine worker' look like she’s just bored with the whole thing.

The two guys, played by Fred MacMurray and Robert Young, spend way too much time posturing. It’s like they’re trying to see who can be the loudest. There’s a scene in an office that just drags on because they’re doing that classic 'we have a plan' talk, and you can tell the director just let them ramble.

The chemistry? It's fine. Sometimes it feels like they’re trying too hard to make it look like a real fight. It’s not quite as intense as The Battle of Hearts, but it’s definitely got that pitter-patter pace.

Random notes from the couch:

• The office set looks suspiciously clean. Like, nobody is actually working in there.
• I’m pretty sure one of the extras in the background is just reading the same newspaper for ten minutes straight.
• The dialogue is sharp, but sometimes it lands like a lead balloon when the music swells too hard.
• Claudette’s wardrobe is honestly the best part of the first act.

It’s a bit of a weird movie. It starts like it’s going to be a heavy drama about being broke, then it turns into a slapstick office comedy, then suddenly it’s a love triangle. It doesn't really know what it wants to be. But who cares? It moves fast enough that you don't really have to worry about the plot holes.

There's a moment near the middle where they stop the story for a weird, unnecessary gag involving a telephone. It serves zero purpose. I loved it. It’s just that kind of movie, you know? It doesn't take itself too seriously.

Compared to something like Sweetie, it feels way more grounded in actual human behavior, even if that behavior is just 'guys being idiots.' If you want a film that’s easy to watch on a rainy Tuesday, this is it. Just don’t overthink the ending. It’s pretty silly.