Monkey Business (1952)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Spencer S

  
  This, another in a long line of Howard Hawks comedies, centers around the absurd in every aspect, the wit and candor of other comedies of the era complacent to take a backseat to physical comedy and the antics of two youthful adults. The two main stars of the film are Ginger Rogers… More
  This, another in a long line of Howard Hawks comedies, centers around the absurd in every aspect, the wit and candor of other comedies of the era complacent to take a backseat to physical comedy and the antics of two youthful adults. The two main stars of the film are Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. Rogers, famous for the song and dance at MGM, does show off her pipes and happy feet but in a minimal sense. This film better showcases her acting abilities. Grant has already been placed in roles where he's either confused, or nerdy, or subject to public embarrassment. This film has them all in heaping amounts. The science behind the plot on the other hand is troubling. This formula is supposed to make you youthful and invigorated, but instead of changing you to look young, you act young. Now, there are a hundred ways in modern society that you can feel young without going to these lengths, so much of the plot just doesn't translate for modern audiences. This is a steep hill to climb, but it's when Grant and Rogers take said formula together that the film really works. They are both infantile, and their give and take as small children is actually really hilarious. Rogers truly does some of her best work in this film, without playing second fiddle to a certain unnamed dance partner. Also on the billing is legendary starlet Marilyn Monroe, who is far less than trivial to the film, and shows off an early rendition of her later persona as a bubble head with hidden dwellings of intelligence and wit. It's cute and quirky, with many monkeys to spare.

• AJ V

  
  This is a goofy comedy starring Grant and Rogers, but Monroe plays a small part as Grant's secretary or something. The story isn't very unique, but it's funny and the movie is enjoyable.

• Jennifer D

  
  Haha! Loved it! Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers are just masters of physical comedy. It's one thing to act young, it's another thing to have your expressions look young. Hilarious! Not the best screwball comedy I've ever seen, but certainly had it's funny parts!… More
  Haha! Loved it! Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers are just masters of physical comedy. It's one thing to act young, it's another thing to have your expressions look young. Hilarious! Not the best screwball comedy I've ever seen, but certainly had it's funny parts! Strange they feature this as a Marilyn Monroe film when she certainly wasn't the best part of it, sorry Marilyn.

• Conner R

  
  I think you either love screwball comedies or hate them, I particularly love them a lot. I feel that it's the best form of romantic comedy and about the only slapstick I tend to enjoy, mainly because it's rooted in wit rather than shear silliness. Cary Grant also happens to… More
  I think you either love screwball comedies or hate them, I particularly love them a lot. I feel that it's the best form of romantic comedy and about the only slapstick I tend to enjoy, mainly because it's rooted in wit rather than shear silliness. Cary Grant also happens to be one of my favorite actors so it's kind've impossible not for me not to love this. Howard Hawks is probably the best comedy director to ever live, no one even comes close. Mainly because he treats all of his projects with the up-most respect and care.

• xGary X

  
  Scientist Cary Grant's lab chimp gets loose and creates a youth serum that makes everyone act like they're in their childhood. Howard Hawks was responsible for a few of the great comedies of the golden age, and the cast can hardly be criticized, but this rather puerile entry… More
  Scientist Cary Grant's lab chimp gets loose and creates a youth serum that makes everyone act like they're in their childhood. Howard Hawks was responsible for a few of the great comedies of the golden age, and the cast can hardly be criticized, but this rather puerile entry in the genre doesn't really do the talent involved justice. It's little more than a one idea sitcom where the audience are supposed to be amused by grown ups acting like children in some half-hearted slapstick and "look at the funny monkey". I'm sure pre-teens and Jim Carrey fans will find this all a hoot but I was just mildly embarrassed to see one of my favourite actors participating in this kind of juvenile nonsense. Marilyn showcases her ability to steal every scene she's in but any film that contains jokes that rely on the audience thinking wearing checked flannel sports jackets and argyle socks is incredibly risque is rather worse for wear. I'd stick to Hawks and Grant's infinitely superior collaborations, Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday.

• Jason O

  
  "Monkey Business" is what I call a HILARIOUS movie! Barnaby (Cary Grant) is a chemist who is working on a new formula that has the potential to be a scientific breakthrough if it works. But he can't seem to find the missing ingredient that would make it all work and… More
  "Monkey Business" is what I call a HILARIOUS movie! Barnaby (Cary Grant) is a chemist who is working on a new formula that has the potential to be a scientific breakthrough if it works. But he can't seem to find the missing ingredient that would make it all work and produce a change of direction in the way he lives. A monkey accidentally mixes various ingredients together in a laboratory, creating a formula that literally makes the drinkers (of the formula) feel and act much younger than they actually are. The lucky or not so lucky drinkers can feel and experience such effects as having their vision restored to 20/20, being angry, and so on. But what all the drinkers experience is a feeling of having energy that refuses to run out for awhile and they temporarily act like a kid, maybe even younger. After so long, the formula wears off and the drinkers return to their old and boring selves (when compared to way they were while under the influence of the formula), at least until they drink some more of it. "Monkey Business" also provides a few subplots such as a group of people wanting to get their hands on Barnaby's formula. These subplots don't do anything but make the already great movie even better. "Monkey Business" has many standout comedy sequences that all go full blast on the laughs. A few of the most memorable parts are when Cary Grant takes Marilyn Monroe on a FAST and unpredictable joyride through town in a sleek new car, when Cary Grant and his wife (Ginger Rogers) fight with paint, Cary Grant playing as "Red Eagle," the star of some kind of Indian game with the children, and so many more. The main reason "Monkey Business" is so funny is because you woudln't really expect to see most of the things you'll see once the formula kicks in. For example, would you expect to see Cary Grant do cartwheels or a MAJOR belly buster off the high dive? Everybody in "Monkey Business" does a spectacular job of acting, especially Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Marilyn Monroe is also a standout even though she's not really one of the main characters in the film. To make it short, "Monkey Business" is a comedy movie that will make people of all ages laugh out loud. Me (I'm 21), my younger brother and sister, our mom (40's), and our great-grandmother (she's in her 80's), all sat down one day and watched this movie. Though there is a wide gap in our ages, we all laughed over and over again. If you or anyone you know likes comedy movies, get "Monkey Business" as soon as possible! NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001.

• jay n

  
  fun with terrific performances from Cary Grant and ginger Rogers and a sexy saucy turn from a young Marilyn

• Walter M

  
  "Youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw [font=Century Gothic]In "Monkey Business"(1952), Cary Grant is playing Barnaby Fulton, a brilliant but occasionally absent-minded scientist who wears coke-bottle glasses and works for Oxly Chemicals on a… More
  "Youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw [font=Century Gothic]In "Monkey Business"(1952), Cary Grant is playing Barnaby Fulton, a brilliant but occasionally absent-minded scientist who wears coke-bottle glasses and works for Oxly Chemicals on a rejuvenating formula. At one point, Grant decides to test the formula on himself...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Monkey Business" is an amusingly silly slapstick farce performed by a very worthy cast including Cary Grant(playing very much against type), Ginger Rogers and Charles Coburn but I still do not understand the appeal of Marilyn Monroe. There are also sublte thoughts here about experimentation on animals - one of the monkeys makes a successful formula and puts it in the humans' water supply, the water cooler. Also, Dr. Fulton has concerns that too much of his research is done on commercial projects like indestructible panty hose for example.[/font]

• monty h

  
  A wonderful comedy that re-teams director Howard Hawks and star Cary Grant. The duo have worked magic before in other screwball classics like His Girl Friday (my all time favorite movie) and I Was A Male War Bride. In this one, Grant is absent minded chemist Barney Fulton who… More
  A wonderful comedy that re-teams director Howard Hawks and star Cary Grant. The duo have worked magic before in other screwball classics like His Girl Friday (my all time favorite movie) and I Was A Male War Bride. In this one, Grant is absent minded chemist Barney Fulton who discovers a fountain of youth potion that he has been testing on chimps. Well he accidentally takes it himself and reverts to being a teen-ager. Which includes spending time with his gorgeous secretary Miss Lois Laurel (played by Marilyn Monroe). Well Mrs. Fulton (a sharp and funny Ginger Rogers) takes an even bigger dose and reverts even further to a 9 year old and all kinds of chaos ensues. Monkey Business is a hilarious comedy that lets the stars just have all the fun they want. A must see. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lois Laurel: [at her secretrial desk, responding to Barnaby's remark that she is at work early] Mr. Oxley's been complaining about my punctuation, so I'm careful to get here before nine.

• Sunil J

  
  A bit silly but still a pretty good comedy.

• Marion R

  
  It was okay and cute. Watch if you are in the mood for something light.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings