After eight years of marriage, Robert and Nina Tracey (Lemmon and Holliday) are bored with each other and have decided to call it quits. When Nina announces that she wants a divorce, Bob agrees that it's a good idea; in fact, he tells her, he's been wanting to suggest that very thing for six months. In agreement that they need to end their marriage, Nina flies off to Reno.
Newly single, Bob moves in with his Navy buddy, Charlie (Jack Carson). Quite the playboy, Charlie immediately suggests that Bob begin seeing other women; Bob, however, isn't interested at first and ends up reminiscing about how he and Nina met. Soon, though, Charlie fixes Bob up with a friend, Janice (Kim Novak), but since Bob still thinks of himself as a married man, the date doesn't go well.
Nina, also, is attempting to move into a new season of life. Besides dating an overly aggressive colleague, she seeks to bone up on her "culture" by taking French lessons and dance classes. Bob, too, enrolls in dance lessons, and now hot on their feet, the two of them happen to meet up on the dance floor while on dates with others.
In due time, both Bob and Nina feel like giving their relationship another chance; however, when Nina informs Bob that with his newly-acquired mustache and 3-piece suit, he resembles either Graucho Marx or a gigolo, and Bob counters that Nina is looking like a middle-aged woman, all hopes for a reconciliation are off...that is until Charlie moves in on Nina himself.
What will Nina do when Charlie puts his playboy moves on her? What will Bob do when he discovers his best friend is moving in on "his wife?" These are the questions which play out in the balance of this film.
While Phffft is an enjoyable film, it is definitely only so-so in my book. Miss Holliday and Mr. Lemmon were paired earlier in 1954 in It Should Happen to You---a film which I find vastly superior to this one. That said, here in Phffft, Judy is her usual delightful self, and Jack (Lemmon) is completely wonderful as well. Quite honestly, I think Mr. Lemmon stole the show. While I don't see Jack Carson as the playboy type, he actually worked quite well in this role. Kim Novak, though---at least for me---was definitely miscast. While I think she's wonderful in several dramatic films (Middle of the Night, Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Eddy Duchin Story), I don't think she fits in a comedic role. I didn't find her funny at all; in fact, because I'm used to her in dramatic roles and, therefore, see her as much more than the "dumb blonde" she portrays here, I found her character annoying rather than funny.
At any rate, I adore Judy Holliday (which is quite surprising since most of her works are comedic and I'm not a huge comedy fan), so I do view this film occasionally...I just happen to enjoy several of her other films more than this one. However, it is a very solid, 3-star film (4 stars according to my husband and kids), and fans of Miss Holliday, Mr. Lemmon, or Miss Novak won't want to miss it. The film is out on DVD, so it should be easy to track down. Additionally, it is on the TCM schedule for Wednesday, August 22nd, at 6:00 a.m. (ET).
Happy viewing!!
