Over the last few months, Turner Classic Movies has featured many Hal Roach films that were in the post Laurel and Hardy era. Around the same time this team left Roach Studios, Roach began specializing in short feature-length films (about an hour in length). Some were pretty good (such as TANKS A MILLION and TOPPER) but many suffered from exceptionally poor scripts and unappealing actors--and the films definitely did not age well. This is one of those forgotten films and after seeing it, I really think TCM should have let it remain forgotten! The film is a cross-dressing comedy with a lot of music. The male students at Quinceton University are angry at being disrespected by the females at Mar Brynn University, so they decide to have one of the guys matriculate as a girl in order to make the girls school look foolish(?). Unlike TOOTSIE, this film had neither a decent script or an actor capable of playing the part. It just wasn't believable nor was it particularly funny. Much of the problem was that the jokes were generally very corny (such as the names of the schools) and the songs pretty poor as well (such as their bizarre tribute to vegetables). In addition, having Kent Rogers along for support didn't help. While Rogers imitations were funny and helped in his brief appearance in STALAG 17 a decade later, here he just seemed like someone's obnoxious child mugging at the camera and doing some terrible impersonations. Aside from a good version of Charlie McCarthy, his Cary Grant and the rest of his attempts were just awful and sounded nothing like the originals. In fact, he should have been embarrassed to see himself on film--it was that bad.
Overall, this is a sad and limp comedy that shows none of the genius or spark that once made Roach Studios the gem of Hollywood. Not worth your time, as there are so many better comedies about cross-dressing.
Overall, this is a sad and limp comedy that shows none of the genius or spark that once made Roach Studios the gem of Hollywood. Not worth your time, as there are so many better comedies about cross-dressing.