good back-story, and good acting

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Half way through the 'Thin Man' series, that brilliant pair William Powell and Myrna Loy took time off to make this romantic comedy, and capture a bit more of their magic for posterity. They may have been the most effective romantic comedy duo in cinema history, and to say they clicked is to understate the situation. The viewer is liable to hang on Powell's every witticism, and Loy's every wry glance. This film is excellently directed by old pro Jack Conway. Elisha Cook Jr., who only plays an elevator boy, was finally to become a fixture later the same year in 'The Maltese Falcon', so these were the last moments of his obscurity. Jack Carson, because he is kept under control by a strong director, manages to avoid being annoying in this film, and that is saying a lot, considering his manic over-acting when uncontrolled. In fact, he turns out to be just right for the part of a character who is himself annoying. He knew how to do that! This film starts out with Powell stepping out of a taxi and saying to the doorman at his Manhattan apartment house: 'There's nothing wrong with any person's life that can't be fixed by a good marriage.' Well, that's tempting fate! This really is a kisses-to-hisses story. In the first half, where everybody is lovey-dovey, we are treated to more of that exquisite marital repartee of Powell and Loy which makes the 'Thin Man' series so enjoyable. And there are many terrific witty lines in the script, so many one trips over them in fact. But then the film takes a turn from a romantic comedy into a black comedy, and the story becomes seriously grim, making the film come out at the end as a bizarre hybrid of no settled genre. Some of the extreme attitudes adopted by the character played by Loy are then so uninspiring that one prefers Gail Patrick, the femme fatale and temptress, who has an impeccable sense of fun, while Loy sinks into self-pity and humourlessness. The film is delightful because of Powell and Loy, but only just, and you have to force yourself to laugh at the comic episodes in a lunatic asylum, because such things are only funny if you have never known anyone with genuine mental illness and think such things are a lark. We are lucky to have any extra films showing the magic of Powell and Loy together, as there is no comparable sparkle anywhere else outside of a champagne glass. I knew Myrna Loy extremely superficially when she was getting on in age, and found her uncommunicative and self-contained, not outgoing at all. But that cannot have been the real her, although I suspect she was a reserved person by nature, which may explain the wonderful feeling we get in these films that her responses are always being teased out of her by Powell, who is the only person who knows how to do it. There is always a sense about her that, left to her own devices, she would keep her own counsel and say nothing, but when needled by Powell, wry witticisms suddenly arise from the depths, as if a sparkling fountain had been turned on in the bright sunshine. I believe this was the key to why they worked as a duo, because her natural reserve is being eternally assaulted by the mischievous Powell, and every amusing remark she makes emerges as a result of his conquest of her silence, so that their every moment on screen together is one long, sustained act of his seduction of her, and her countless humorous submissions are so witty and so genteel that we too are seduced by the pair of them every time.

In watching Love Crazy I was amazed at how the film picked up in the second half. In the first half William Powell and Myrna Loy are the usual happy married couple, but through some typical movie situations, some of them very forced, they wind in divorce court.Powell realizes that things have just gotten completely out of hand and wants to apply a break to the divorce. But Loy won't hear of it. So Powell decides to put on a crazy act because if insanity is claimed a thirty day hold is put on the proceedings.Sad for Powell, but hilarious for the viewer the scheme succeeds all to well. The second half of the film reaches a frantic pace that comes close to something Mel Brooks might put together. Powell is first trying to prove he's insane and then very much trying to prove he's not.Such wonderful supporting players as Florence Bates, the mother-in-law from hell, neighbors slinky Gail Patrick and slow burn Donald MacBride; blow-hard Jack Carson, a redundancy if there ever was one, Viennese psychiatrist Sig Ruman, make this Powell-Loy film a joy to watch and one of the better ones where they're not Nick and Nora Charles.Powell does more physical type comedy in this film than in any other I've ever seen. Even more than Libeled Lady because it had only that one classic scene in the trout stream. Here Powell is engaging in all kinds of screwy behavior because he's trying to convince people he's just that. Topped off by him shaving his famous mustache and getting into drag to play his own make believe sister.Great screwball comedy one of the best of its kind.

Myrna Loy and William Powell were truly one of the greatest film couples ever. Sensible chic Myrna and goofy elegant Bill--how they paired well in many of their comedies! "Love Crazy" is the vein of "Double Wedding," "I Love You Again," "Libeled Lady," and maybe a touch of the Thin Man series. One can rely on their on-screen chemistry together in this movie. You know they're bound to make up after he's made an utter fool of himself. In a dress, no less! There are, of course, slow and arguably overly silly scenes in the film (the elevator, perhaps?). But this movie is worth it. If you like it, make sure to watch the other movies I mentioned above.

Powell and Loy were a hugely popular romantic comedy team, most notably in the "The Thin Man" series of films. They complimented each other nicely and established a rapport and a synchronization in their timing which served them very well through many movies. This one has several funny moments and amusing set pieces, but, unfortunately, doesn't quite hang together well enough to be considered a classic. They play a married couple about to celebrate their fourth anniversary when a chain of seemingly minor events escalates into a trip to Divorce Court! Loy's domineering and intrusive mother causes some of the problems and Powell's ex-girlfriend Patrick adds fuel to the fire. Once separated, Powell will stop at nothing to prevent the divorce, even if it means having himself declared insane so that the marriage will have to last another five years! Plenty of slapstick and shenanigans follow as Powell tries to win back Loy while Carson pursues her all the while himself. Powell embarks on more than a few zany pratfalls here, getting his head stuck in elevator doors, slipping on rugs, falling naked into the middle of a cocktail party (off screen) and, most famously, dressing as a woman to evade the folks from "the home". He injects the role with his usual flair and enthusiasm. Loy is radiant. She is allowed to toss out a few understated zingers and wear several drop dead gowns (no costumer is credited, however), but mostly has to play it straight as she alternately wards off and protects Powell. Her inimitable looks and demeanor go a long way in helping this film stay interesting. Patrick plays a very secure man-eater (she's hardly fazed at all when an elevator breaks down and simply climbs out the roof without so much as a furrowed brow!) She has a harder look than Loy, but is attractive and appealing in her own right. Carson does a fine job as a brawny, but sometimes bumbling, neighbor who gets caught up in the action. He and Loy have an amusing scene involving mistaken identity. It would be hard to find a more agonizingly exasperating mother-in-law than the one Bates brings to the film. Hitchcock fans will recall her turn in "Rebecca" as Joan Fontaine's impossible employer. Here, she insinuates herself into things and stirs up trouble at nearly every opportunity. There's a lot going on, and much of it is charming and amusing, but it also becomes rather tedious and tiresome after a while to see people fretting and floundering over something that ought to have been cleared up with one or two sentences. Also, certain sequences play very lengthily today, their comic potential mined far beyond what is there. Still, it's a charming, at times sumptuous, time-killer with the wonderful pair that made much cinema magic together in Hollywood's golden age. Powell, famously, shaved off his trademark moustache for the cross-dressing sequence of this film, but never appears as a man without it.