Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Ninotchka is one of my all time favorite films because it is such a clever, witty study in contrasts. .the stern, humorless "Soviet lady" sent to worldly Paris to reclaim property, and the dashing, worldly "Count Leon" (Melvyn Douglas) who is out to thwart her plans. Little does he know what's in store! Ninotchka's grim determination to accomplish her mission...and Leon's dogged determination to charm her away from her goal, is a delight to watch. And added in the mix are the three Russian comrades - well meaning but soon overcome by the delights of "ringing three times" for the cigarette girls..not to mention the former and entitled Grand Duchess Swana (played with regal hauteur by Ina Claire) who's determined that she'll keep her precious jewels and Leon too.. and send the Soviet envoy packing back to Russia. Who would have thought that Melvyn Douglas could be a romantic and Greta Garbo a comedienne. Ernst Lubitsch certainly concocted a merry confection and it is reported that even Miss Garbo enjoyed working on the film. I just wonder how Ninotchka went over with the production code. Ninotchka and her associates are true Soviet believers, and the exiled Grand Duchess Swana is somebody you would just love to see a meteorite fall upon. Of course the film does make references to the Russian shortages, marching, and spies planted among the Russian everyman, but it does so in a comical way. For sure Lubitsch could not have made this film in the atmosphere of ten years later because of all of the Communist paranoia in the United States. A little odd factoid - Ina Claire and Greta Garbo actually had something in common in real life - John Gilbert. Gilbert married Claire in 1929 after he and Garbo were done romantically. They divorced in 1931.

For some reason, Greta Garbo is elevated beyond her peers. While her mysterious ethos is certainly the stuff of legend (sort of like James Dean and his much too early death), part of her attraction is that she was so inaccessible. I think she was a wonderful actress and in this part she plays it to the hilt, but all this hue and cry over the sullen beauty laughing begs the creation of a godhead. This is a comedy about Russian collectivists becoming enamored with the capitalist world they are supposed to disdain. At the center are some priceless jewels. When Ninotchka comes in to set things straight, it isn't long before she falls for a guy and begins to doubt herself. She had a wonderfully expressive face, and, of course, that sultry voice. This is a fun film, but it is granted its status in many cases because of her unapproachability in real life.

My introduction piece to the screen goddess Greta Garbo actually is her penultimate film, under Lubitsch's guidance and paired with a rakish but urbane Melvyn Douglas, Garbo is Ninotchka, a Russian envoy sent to Paris to deal with a jewelery trade, which is involved into a lawsuit thanks to her inadequate comrades. Though one has to wait for a good 20 minutes before Garbo's first appearance in the movie, the foreplay is jocund and pitches the overall comedic atmosphere in the sheer disparity between capitalism and communism. The opening gambit of three communists Iranoff (Ruman), Buljanoff (Bressart) and Kopalski (Granach), from heatedly conversing about whether or not stay in a luxurious hotel for the sake of the priceless jewelery they are taking with, until they unanimously decide to takes the royal suite since it has a big enough safe to contain the whole set, is the quintessential Lubitsch's touch, liberating lighthearted humor but with grace and sophistication, pinpointing the foibles of human nature with inviting proprieties, where in contemporary comedies, we have almost lost it all. When Garbo arrives (perfectly in her European accented English), she immediately dampens the farcical atmosphere with her icy sternness, but when she meets Leon (Douglas), the debonair Count who instantly falls for her in the very first glance, her communist root is going to be shaken in a romantic swooning which sounds a little impetuous to our narrow- minded fiction if one hold a conservative view on communist disciplines, she doesn't refuse Leon's kiss and even kisses him back in their first night. Then comes the tag-line "Garbo laughs" in the working-class eatery, Leon's jokes are practically duds, only slapstick is without any cultural boundaries. After a must-see wardrobe transformation to give Garbo the essential film star allure in a fancy restaurant and a tête-à-tête for their future plan, the two lovebirds are routinely to face some challenge, Garbo is at the most poignant in the scenes of the farewell phone call in the morning, while she utters her final goodbye, as for him, it just a casual "see you later". Then the film diverges to Moscow, introduces the austere life of Ninotchka under a radically different belief and social system, the non-hierarchic camaraderie and the yearning for western commodities co-exist under the same roof. After a cameo from Lugosi, the film satisfactory brings up the happy ending under a harmless plot device, it is a well-balanced comedy doesn't ruffle the feathers of politics. The film alters Garbo's usual screen persona and comedy is something very rare in her filmography, but it is a successful gamble, she has all the flair and charisma to make audience fall head over heels for her. A big plus is the chemistry between Garbo and Douglas, the latter is a smooth talker and a devout doer, that kind of prince charming in every girl's dream, devilishly likable. The film is a four-Oscar nominee (BEST PICTURE, LEADING ACTRESS included) and generically, a notch below Lubitsch's finest work (e.g. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER 1940, 9/10) as the peerless conjurer of romance in comedy.

"Ninotchka" is one of the funniest movies ever made. But it's not a slapstick or screwball comedy. It is in the class of "It Happened One Night," "My Man Godfry," and "Holiday." The humor is in snappy dialog. The one-liners, subtle zingers, and satire poke fun mostly at Soviet Russia and communism. But it has occasional jabs at capitalism and western lifestyles – notably the idle rich. The movie is superb in all aspects, especially in the script, direction, settings and acting. All of the cast give top performances. Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas are the perfect match for some of the funniest repartee ever put on film. But, how Garbo (Ninotchka) could keep a straight face in those exchanges, one after another, is beyond me. I'll bet MGM had to do many retakes of some of her scenes. If not for her breaking down, then for the cracking up of Douglas (Leon) or others on the set and behind the camera. "Ninotchka" is one of the great comedy-romances for the ages. Young and old alike can enjoy it. But, from some of the comments I've read, it seems much of the humor is lost without a little knowledge of the time. So, I offer these tidbits to help set the stage and prepare viewers for a most enjoyable film. The time is the late 1930s. The story takes place mostly in Paris, moves to Moscow later, and ends in Istanbul. In 1939, all the world knows about Soviet Russia and many of its problems. It has been in the news since the communist takeover after the revolutions 20 years earlier. Joseph Stalin's five-year plan for recovery since 1922 was past its 15th year. So far, it had been an abysmal failure. His social programs had disrupted total populations. His collectivist farm program had failed miserably. Combined with drought and famine, the Russian people faced starvation.But that's not all. The Great Purge of 1936-38 had been in the news the past couple of years. It was Stalin's way to get rid of anyone who didn't agree with him or who might challenge his oppressive rule of Russia. The purge eradicated half a million Russian leaders. The press had covered the carefully staged mock trials in Moscow in that time. Many Russian communist and social leaders confessed to being traitors before they were sentenced to death or the gulags in Siberia. As all of that was going on and being reported from Russia, a number of former Czarist Russian royalty were living in exile around Europe, especially in Paris. Many stories and jokes circulated at that time about crown jewels and lost titles. Thus, the stage is set for "Ninotchka." With the large number of reviews posted up to this time, I wouldn't normally add my own. But, I think far too many people have missed the true depth of the satire and comedy in this great film. The IMDb Web site has a long list of witty dialog and exchanges from the film. But there are many more – and some real subtle zingers that I think many people miss. Here are a few to whet your appetite. In an early scene, Ninotchka explains why Soviet Russia is "peddling our precious possessions to the world at this time." She says, "Our next year's crop is in danger, and you know it. Unless we can get foreign currency to buy tractors, there'll not be enough bread for our people and you comrades." What a great example of skewered Soviet thinking. As if tractors could overcome a drought and famine. It's a great jab at the Soviets.Here's another one. Garbo looks over her hotel suite and says, "I'm ashamed to put a picture of Lenin in a room like this." And another, when her cohorts take her to the suite they reserved for her. "Which part of the room is mine?" Garbo asks. And a cohort replies, "You see, comrade, it's a little different here. They don't rent rooms in pieces. We had to take the whole suite." One more side-splitter was when her agents asked, "How are things in Moscow?" Garbo replied, "Very good. The last mass trial was a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians." A direct jab at Stalin's Great Purge. Douglas, meeting with the three agents early in the film, says that the jewels owned by the exiled duchess were confiscated by the Soviets. One of the agents quips, "I give you my word, they were confiscated legally." In a café later, a waiter seats Ninotchka and asks, "Now what shall it be?" She says, "Raw beets and carrots." He replies, "Madame, this is a restaurant, not a meadow." She next says, "Bring me something simple – I never think about food." The waiter asks, "If you don't think about food, what do you think about?" Ninotchka answers, "The future of the common people." And the waiter replies, "That's also a question of food." What a great running dialog!"Ninotchka" was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Garbo for best actress and the film as best picture. That year may have been the best year in motion picture history for the number of great films produced. But for that, "Ninotchka" likely would have won two or more Oscars. More than 40 full length movies competed for 1939 Oscar honors. Among the best of the year were "Gone With the Wind," "Stagecoach," Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "The Wizard of Oz," "Ninotchka," "Wuthering Heights," "Dark Victory," "Beau Geste," "Of Mice and Men," "Young Mr. Lincoln," "Gunga Din," "The Four Feathers," "Only Angels Have Wings," and "Bachelor Mother." Those top 15 films have a combined average viewer rating (on September 20, 2012) of 7.8. Has there been another year of more great movies than that?