Movie Review: "Pat and Mike"

I know it's a very old movie but old movies seem to speak to me in a way that newer films often don't. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn paired up in this one. The interplay between them was excellent but one thing that slowed the picture down was the emphasis on sports scenes. Over and over again we watched Katharine Hepburn either charge to victory or else fumble up pathetically when her jinx of a boyfriend was around.

The boyfriend seemed to undermine her in subtle ways such as making her feel wrong and giving her unwanted advice. He put a lot of pressure on her and she would feel her confidence knocked right over. I was surprised that Katharine Hepburn who is known for her independent attitude (at least in her movie roles) played someone who was so dependent on this man's opinion of her. But she did.

I loved it when she chucked her suitcases out the train window and jumped off the train to stay in New York and have Mike (Spencer Tracy) take her on as her manager. She stood up to him and everyone else but she sure had trouble standing up to that boyfriend until he thought he caught her with Mike in a compromising situation, and stalked out of her life. And good riddance too!

Meanwhile she and her manager are falling for each other but in denial about it. He's plenty supportive, at first because he wants to make money off of her success but later on as he starts to care for her he encourages her for her own sake. Mike has his own blind spot: he is affronted when Pat fights off a pair of thugs who are about to beat him up. Even though he says he believes in a "5-0, 5-0" relationship between a man and a woman he wants her to be a "she" while he remains the "he."

However he seems to get over it and by the end, they have decided to give their growing love a chance to grow. And I was happy for them. It's a bit slow by today's standards but an interesting film and the two stars were lovers in real life, so you can feel the electricity. I recommend it.