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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. We're Not Dressing remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you want to see Bing Crosby try to domesticate a literal bear while Carole Lombard looks intensely annoyed in a wet dress, then yes, We're Not Dressing is absolutely worth your eighty minutes. Classic comedy fans will eat up the sheer chaos of it, but if you can't stand old-school musicals where people break into song while soaking wet on a desert island, you should probably steer clear.
The whole thing is basically a very loose, very silly riff on that old play about a butler who becomes the boss when a bunch of rich snobs get shipwrecked. Only here, the butler is a singing sailor named Stephen, and the snobs are the most useless bunch of socialites you have ever seen.
Lombard plays Judy, who owns the yacht and spends the first half of the movie being incredibly mean to Bing. Honestly, her attitude is kind of terrible, but she looks so stunning doing it that you almost don't mind.
Then the ship sinks because someone's dog ran onto the steering wheel or something equally ridiculous. Suddenly they are all stranded on an island, and of course, none of the rich folks know how to do anything except complain about the lack of clean towels.
Enter Bing, who immediately takes charge because he knows how to build a shelter and cook. He also has a pet bear named Droopy who just hangs around. 🐻
I am not kidding about the bear, by the way. It just sits there eating honey while Bing sings 'Love Thy Neighbor' to it. It is one of those oddly specific details that makes you realize movies back then were just vibing without any corporate notes.
And then there is George Burns and Gracie Allen. They play a couple of wacky scientists who are already on the island doing 'research.'
They have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Like, at all. They just wander into scenes, Gracie says something completely illogical that confuses George, and then they wander off again.
It reminds me a bit of the chaotic, disjointed energy you get in some other early thirties comedies, like His Dizzy Day or even Clear All Wires!, where nobody seems to care if the plot makes sense as long as someone is making a joke.
Ethel Merman is also here, playing a character named Edith who seems to exist purely to belt out a song and look cynical. She gets a great number where she basically shouts about how men are useless, and it is easily the best musical moment in the whole film.
There is this one scene where Ray Milland—yes, a very young, pre-Oscar Ray Milland—tries to act like a tough guy and gets completely humiliated by Bing. It is super awkward because Milland looks like he wants to be literally anywhere else on earth.
The romance between Bing and Carole is... fine, I guess? They don't really have that much chemistry, to be honest. It feels more like they just realized they were the two most attractive people on the island and decided to couple up by default.
Also, the ending happens so fast you might miss it if you blink. One minute they are arguing on the beach, the next minute they are back on a boat and everything is resolved.
It is definitely not a masterpiece, and some of the jokes feel older than the hills. But it has this breezy, don't-care attitude that is hard to dislike.
IMDb —
1922
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