Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot is the 1959 tale of two men on the run from the Chicago mafia, directed by Billy Wilder. It is a musical comedy, whose music is non-integrated into the plot. The story follows two men who have witnessed a multiple-murder committed by the mob and have to leave town disguised as members of an all-girl band. This film is a mix between a backstage and a backyard musical; that is to say that the films shows some of the rehearsals necessary to the band's performance, but it also follows the traditional boy-meets-girl scenario. The musical numbers are not fully-choreographed, in fact, the only music in the movie is being performed by bands in a concert-type setting.

Marilyn Monroe plays the blond ditz (for lack of a better word) Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, a girl looking for a rich man to fall in love with. Tony Curtis's Joe/ Josephine falls for Sugar, and a humorous plot unfolds with Curtis trying to negotiate being a girl while having a relationship as a man. His friend, Jack Lemmon's character, Jerry/ Daphne helps to facilitate Curtis's tangled romance while staying disguised, hidden from Spats Colombo and his gang.

The costuming in the film is really important to the plot. It is the costuming that allows Curtis and Lemmon to join the girls' band, and it is joining the girls' band that allows Curtis to meet Monroe. Monroe's costumes, too, are important to the film. Her day-to-day costumes are nothing too extreme, but the dresses she wears for her performances and her dates are extremely revealing, emphasizing her femininity. Her character is a ditzy gold-digger, looking for a man rich enough to marry and take care of her. Her clothes further her characterization.

The film takes a comedic look at the dangerous side of life in Chicago during the Prohibition.