It's ironic that the MacGuffin of Howard Hawks' Monkey Business is a pharmaceutical 'fountain of youth,' as the film increasingly appears a tailor-made project designed to reignite the spark of genius of his past zany screwball collaborations with Cary Grant (with Grant even portraying another absent-minded professor with an animal co-star here, a-la Bringing Up Baby). On paper, everything was in place: an intriguing, and even topical premise, with the 1950s demonstrating an increasing cultural obsession with 'wonder drugs,' sterling co-stars, both established (Ginger? As in 'Fred and Ginger'?!) and new (why hello there, Miss Monroe!), and Hawks, one of the most acclaimed directors of his age. Surely Monkey Business was primed to be the most rip-roaring comedy of its time, the new pinnacle of the screwball heyday. Wasn't it? Sadly, the film itself offers a poignant metaphor for its construction: Grant's scientist, toiling away at his wonder drug, has all the right ingredients, but can't seem to cobble them together in a way to get the desired result. The film's script and editing feel rushed and piecemeal, with the film lurching between scene to scene with minimal cohesion, giving the impression the script was being constantly reworked on set (hardly an unusual practice in Classical Hollywood, but seldom this evident). Even the normally flawless Hawks flounders directorially, struggling to settle on a tone (zany or deadpan?), and settling on a languid, meandering pace that doesn't seem to fit the increasingly wacky mischief, making Grant and Rogers' youthful running wild feel oddly polite and strained. This is not to say that all is lost: the script blurts out some audaciously risqué and clever one- liners here and there, and the central premise remains novel enough to yield comedic mileage aplenty. The antics of Grant and Rogers gleefully suffering the effects of his anti-aging serum do offer moments of exquisite comedic timing (Rogers' titter when surreptitiously sliding a goldfish down Charles Coburn's pants is a comedic sight gag for the ages). On the other hand, they also forcibly rub many particularly, cringe-worthily antiquated comedic bellyflops in the viewer's face. A scene of Ginger Rogers dismissing very founded allegations of spousal abuse played off as a joke? An excruciatingly long sequence of Grant, regressed to full- fledged boyhood, painting his face and "playing Injun", whoop-whoop-whooping and all? Yeesh. It's moments like these that make contemporary viewers leery of watching "old movies". As the film ambles along to its madcap finale, Hawks finally hits his stride, delivering a climax of amiably memorable chaos, including Rogers mistaking her husband as having literally regressed into a baby, and a lab full of stuffy scientists, cackling, having a water fight while swinging from chandeliers. If the film as a whole had tapped into this same sense of energetic lunacy, Monkey Business might have lived up to its name. Instead, we conclude with a trite, disingenuous monologue about the benefits of age and maturity that feels so slapped on by the Hays Code the lens is practically clouded by the fingerprints of Joseph Breen. The audience subsequently departs feeling like the titular monkeys may have been left in charge of the editing suite. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate actor to meld bumbling pomposity with youthful sprightliness than Cary Grant, but even the screwball king is not immune to the off-kilter feeling pervading the film. The film's opening, an inspired breach of the fourth wall, has Grant attempting to walk into the scene, halted by an offscreen voice (Hawks himself, in an odd cameo) intoning "Not yet, Cary", proves oddly prophetic, as Cary never appears to be fully present in a scene, delivering his perfectly precise zingers and customary tumbling in an oddly distant, disinterested manner. While it's true that Grant on autopilot is still a more capable comedian than most others at their best, the feeling that he's never really enjoying himself certainly doesn't help the audience do so. As such, it's left to Ginger Rogers to steal the show with a hugely commanding presence, sliding between heartwarmingly caring wife to mischievously destructive, pouty girl (and the only cast member to convincingly tap into the quirks and nuances of portraying a child). The early scenes of Rogers gently coaxing the absentminded Grant into remembering to leave through the door before locking it are practically awash with a warm glow, which is perfectly shattered by her later flopping on the floor, screeching with laughter, like a caffeine-addled salmon. As support for the headliners, Charles Coburn maintains his reputation as cinema's best blusterer as Grant's hem-hemming CEO, and, though it's disappointing for Marilyn Monroe to have little to do other than suffer objectification jokes on her behalf, she still plays the wide- eyed airhead stereotype with as much class and coy timing as possible. Ultimately, however, the clear runaway star of the show is Esther the chimpanzee. The unfathomably choreographed scenes of her physical comedy interactions with the cast, and later sequences of her serenely mixing chemicals with a fluidity that would put Gene Kelly to shame, are the few moments where the film achieves an almost transcendent fascination, never to be seen in the loathsome subsequent 'animal humour' comedies polluting the 80s and onward.While Monkey Business may fizzle rather than crackle considering the almost intimidating array of talent on display, there are still many throwaway bits where the stars momentarily align and offer comedic gold. Screwball fans willing to indulge the film's somewhat lumbering tempo and wince-worthy 'product of its time' breaches of political correctness will still find enough zaniness on display to cobble together a breezily enjoyable time. Otherwise, viewers with a more sensitive palate will find the film rather like its youth serum: rather bitter, and resulting in a fairly obnoxious and forgettable cacophony of adults who should know better. -6/10

I found this movie on Netflix streaming movies. I happen to be a Chemist and that didn't help, because the Chemistry displayed here was very far from what might happen in a real Chemistry research lab. Anyway, to the story. As the movie starts and his wife is trying to get him out of the house, he is acting like he might be mentally challenged, but he is acting the part of an absent-minded scientist, deep in thought. Cary Grant is intelligent and inventive Chemist Dr. Barnaby Fulton. He is working on what could be the invention of the ages, a formula that would arrest aging, and perhaps even reverse it.The title has two meanings. Barnaby's lab is using chimpanzees, which they often referred to as "the monkeys", it was part of their research business. But the title also refers to the human "monkey business" that the characters seem to get into, over and over.Ginger Rogers is just great as the wife, Mrs. Edwina Fulton, and always very understanding and forgiving of Barnaby's foibles. Marilyn Monroe is also in it, as a typist who can't type, but her character introduces some additional high jinks. SPOILERS: Make no mistake, this is a slapstick comedy. Not only is Barnaby having trouble perfecting his formula, one day a chimp lets himself out of the cage, and proceeds to randomly pick up chemicals on the lab bench and mix them. The chemical mix ends up in the water cooler, and turns out to have the effect Barnaby was searching for. But with no witnesses and no idea what had happened, the chimp became an unwitting inventor of a technology that no one could duplicate. All the better for humanity, I suppose!

One or two steps above awful best describes this 1952 comedy farce. Despite a wonderful cast, the writing certainly does this ridiculous film in. Chemist Cary Grant is married to economics major Ginger Rogers.While experimenting with a formula, Grant takes some of it and the supposed hilarity begins. Ditto for Rogers taking it as well and the couple revert to silliness, talking about past men and ladies they knew and all other sorts of nonsense.The best part is probably where Grant, under the influence of the chemical, takes Charles Coburn's secretary for a whirlwind ride. It was said that both director Howard Hawkes and Grant saw no talent in Monroe. Of course they didn't. There was no picture here to speak of.The ending sequence with the baby is even more ridiculous and the only part that was also good was when The End appeared on the screen. Hopeless.

I love this film. I do prefer His Girl Friday, but this movie is wonderful. The production values are top notch, with lovely cinematography and costumes. The pace is snappy, and the story is wonderfully constructed with seldom a dull moment. Monkey Business is also brilliantly directed by Howard Hawks, the writing is superb and the acting is top notch. I have always loved Cary Grant, he was a very charming, urbane and likable actor, and he is sublime here. Ginger Rogers is also very good, it shows that she is just as good as acting as she is at dancing. It is Marilyn Monroe though who steals the show, very beautiful and sassy, she is delightful in Monkey Business. All in all, this movie is a delight and definitely worth the look. 10/10 Bethany Cox