Some Like It Hot
Not recommended. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Two musicians see a crime and have to hide from gangsters. They dress up as women and join an all-girl band on a train to Florida. It is a very famous funny movie, but it is full of grown-up jokes. This one is for adults only. As craft this is one of the best comedies Hollywood ever made, and Lumen still says no. The whole engine runs on lust, lies and men in dresses. One man tricks a woman into seducing him by faking a fortune. The other accepts a marriage proposal from a millionaire who thinks he is a woman, plans to cash in on the divorce, and the film closes on the millionaire shrugging that off when he learns the truth. The Legion of Decency rated it B in 1959 for these same reasons.
For parents
For adults only, and adults should know what they are getting. If an older teen sees it at school or a friend's house, talk it through. The disguise starts as a way to stay alive, but the film quickly turns it into a way to get close to women who do not know better. Joe lies to Sugar from start to finish, and the film rewards him. Jerry says yes to Osgood for the money, which makes a joke of marriage. The last line is the famous one. It lands as a laugh, and it also tells the audience that whether a spouse is a man or a woman is a small detail. The Church teaches the opposite: marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. Ask: who in this story tells the truth? What does Sugar deserve that nobody gives her until the end? Also expect a gangland massacre with bodies shown, heavy Prohibition drinking, and innuendo in nearly every scene.