The Awful Truth

Leo McCarey, 1937

Most romantic comedies begin with mismatched love interests meeting and setting forth on a wacky journey toward love and understanding. The Awful Truth begins with adultery and divorce. Lucy and Jerry Warriner (Irene Dunne and Cary Grant) discover they've both been cheating: Jerry with undisclosed women, Lucy with her voice instructor Armand Duvalle (Alexander D'Arcy). They agree to divorce, with the one point of contention at trial being ownership of their dog Mr. Smith (Skippy). Lucy gets custody, but the judge grants Jerry visitation rights.

The first half of the movie revolves around Jerry's jealous or spiteful attempts to sabotage Lucy's new relationship with her neighbor Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), using the dog as justification to continue visiting her. In one sense Jerry fails, since he loses half the battles he fights; some of his ploys backfire on him entirely. In another sense, he wins: Lucy realizes she's still in love with him. Shortly after she vows to dump Leeson, however, Armand visits. Armand accepts Lucy's renewed desire for Jerry—so much so that he hides in her bedroom when Jerry drops by, lest Jerry get the wrong idea. Of course, several minutes of slapstick and one surprise visit from Leeson later, Jerry picks the same hiding place. Leeson, who had been previously assured that Lucy was not a deceitful adulteress, is treated to the sight of one man chasing another out of her bedroom. Lucy becomes single once more.

Her battle to end Jerry's newfound relationship with a wealthy socialite is comparatively simple—all it takes is one visit in which Lucy pretends to be his sister, a drunken showgirl. Once both are free again, though, Jerry and Lucy still need a push to get back together. Lucy takes initiative by stranding them in a cabin. The door connecting their rooms there, in an obvious metaphor for their relationship, won't stay closed: but neither of them will make a move, and suspense builds until the final resolution.

The Awful Truth has a very 1930s pacing and sense of humor. Some of the slapstick bits call to mind Looney Tunes, such as the hilarious "fancy meeting you here?" smiles between Armand and Jerry in Lucy's bedroom—just before Jerry unleashes the violence. There are other moments that are more subtle than what is often seen in current films, like the brief shot of Lucy, sitting with Jerry and Leeson, awkwardly tucking her skirt over her knee when Jerry glances at her leg.

At the same time, The Awful Truth seems strangely modern. Lucy and Jerry are a divorcing childless couple who take equal pleasure in sniping at one another. The characters discuss the concept of rebound relationships. Most strikingly, infidelity is played for harmless humor rather than drama. The film doesn't glorify adultery, and the Hays Code restricts it to implication—but it isn't openly condemned as something no sympathetic character should ever do. For the protagonists, it's little more than a quirk to overcome.

Brianna Clampitt