| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
|
|
| Direction: |
A |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A- |
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|
Cheesy, but the good kind of cheesy.
by Lauren (movies profile)
Feb 9, 2008
4
of
4 people found this review helpful
The first time I saw The African Queen was on Turner Classic Movie Channel with my brother. He could hardly sit through it without another vulgarity to the "cheesiness" of this film - "This is gay," "This is retarded," etc, etc.
But for me, it was the cheesiness that really built this film in to what it is - a sweet, sentimental romance. For someone from a generation accustomed to stereotypical romantic comedy Hollywood chick-flicks, THE AFRICAN QUEEN brought to me everything I wanted out of a good romance film. Normally I HATE romance movies and refuse to watch them, but the AFRICAN QUEEN, being from another era, brought a whole new light to the idea of courtship and love. It is so modest that one can only look at it for what it is - true love. With the modern romance films which are basically two hot Hollywood stars constantly making out in the rain and exchanging sappy cliches, THE AFRICAN QUEEN is essentially the opposite, yet it still holds its ground as a sweet and sentimental love story.
First of all, I loved that this movie has such a minimal amount of physical contact between Rosie and Charlie. It was just so incredibly modest - unlike anything I had previously seen in a romance. It was so cute when Rosie asked Charlie to close his eyes as he pulled her out of the river from bathing -- but she still had her underclothes on! The rest of the movie continues in a similar fashion. Supposedly there is some slight sexual reference in this film hinting that they actually did have intercourse on the boat. But for me, I did not see a reference anywhere. It makes you think that maybe our generation of moviegoers and critics are too acustomed to sex sex sex in today's romances that we automatically assume that Charlie and Rosie spending the night on a boat together means that they went at each other! I got the impression that Rosie was terribly oldfasioned and wouldn't be willing to give herself up until after her and Charlie were properly married.
And that is what is so sweet about this movie. If the AFRICAN QUEEN had been made today, it would fail miserably. Why? Because today's audiences are too immature to handle a movie that isn't boasting violence, profanities, and sex. The AFRICAN QUEEN has none of this and still continues to grip you as a realistic romance. In a modern romance, Charlie would have gotten in to Rosie's pants on the first night on the boat! But it is the lacking of this and other similar sexual themes that really sets THE AFRICAN QUEEN apart, and what makes it a truly classic romance movie.
The only downside is that the storyline and plot were pretty bland and unmemorable. What really steals the show are Rosie and Charlie and their true, unbreakable love! |
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