Some Like It Hot (1959)

Billy Wilder’s ‘Some Like it Hot’

Thematic Elements: Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot is about one thing: sex. However, it is about sex in a variety of different ways. Sex is the driving force behind many desires and aspirations. Sexual desires inhibit you from making smart decisions. The gender of sex comes into question and challenges the perceptions of stereotypes behind the sexes. The two male protagonists are able to explore this deeper when they move in and out of sexual relationships with various members of the same or opposite sex. Gender lines become blurred and masculine and feminine stereotypes are subverted. The male protagonists are forced to take on female personas due to the violent and toxic nature of men at the beginning of the film. They then discover how difficult it is to adorn the female way of life. They cannot escape the toxic nature of men throughout the film. Men are nothing but inappropriate with them, they objectify them, and the men begin to realize women’s economic dependency of these men. All the main characters in the film also use sex to attain their desires. Sugar Kane uses her innate sexuality to try and acquire a man who can provide for her economically as she tries to seduce millionaires throughout the film. Joseph pretends to be a billionaire and tries to use a fake impotence to trick Sugar Kane into using her sexuality to ‘cure’ him of his impotence so that he can have sex with her and hopefully be with her. Gerald is a character that uses sex for a totally different reason. He uses sexual identity to explore different natures of his personality, and the liberation he feels as a woman actually make him feel MORE sexual (as he is not a very sex-driven person at the start of the film). He spends more time as a woman than Joseph does and even spends time as a woman in his free time when he does not even need to. He is so comfortable being a woman that he even forgets that he is a man and accepts a marriage proposal. He becomes a far happier version of himself because he has accepted another sexual side of himself that was not there previously. All of the characters utilize sex to ultimately achieve something they are trying to pursue and in the process, gain a broader perspective about sexuality and the very nature and inconsistencies of sex and sexual identity.

Camerawork: Wilder uses the theme of sex to film the movie. The first time we see Sugar Kane, her body is swaying back and forth as the men stare at her; even the train cannot help but be turned on as it lets of steam as she walks by. Wilder does not discriminate in this however, as he films the films in the men in drag in a sexual way as well, as the camera gazes at their legs like it would a woman. The scene in which Sugar Kane sings I Want to be Loved by You, the shot is suggestive of nudity in the lighting and costume of Sugar Kane. All of Wilder’s utilization of the camera is meant to exaggerate the very sexual nature of the themes of the film.

Best Shot: The before mentioned scene in which Sugar Kane sings, I Want to be Loved by You is my best shot of the film. The spotlight is shining on Sugar Kane while the nature of the seemingly see-through dress can only put the audience in a certain state of mind, the very state of mind all of the characters seem to be in. Wilder is not letting you forget the theme of the film and is making sure you are thinking and feeling the same sexual thoughts all the characters are throughout the movie.

The shot:



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