Comparative Study


Central characters How well we relate to the central characters in a text, how sympathetically they are portrayed, and how successful they are in achieving fulfilment colours our impression of the general vision and viewpoint of the text. In Some Like It Hot, we are invested in the stories of Joe, Jerry and Sugar.


Initially, none of the three central characters is portrayed in a particularly sympathetic light in terms of their relationships and, despite the comedic aspects, this contributes to a rather negative general vision and viewpoint. Joe, Jerry and Sugar seem to have little personal integrity. Instead, they are out for what they can get and are willing to lie and cheat if that’s what it takes. Early in the film, we learn that Joe is a womaniser who uses his charm and good looks to get what he wants. Nellie, his agent’s secretary, is angry that Joe stood her up but seems helpless in the face of his charm when he flirts with her again. Joe’s smooth talk and kisses are simply a way of manipulating Nellie into giving him her car to drive to a gig, and, despite her outrage when she realises this, Nellie agrees. Joe takes further advantage of Nellie’s crush on him when he tells her mechanic to put a full tank of petrol on her bill. Although Joe is a suave and superficially charming character at this stage in the film, his selfishness is hard to relate to and we have little hope that he will enter into any kind of mutually beneficial relationship with a woman.


Sugar also initially appears rather calculating when she tells Josephine that she is glad the band is going to Florida because all the millionaires go there for the winter. She is disillusioned with love, confiding in Josephine that she has been treated badly by a succession of men she has fallen for in the past. As a result of her experiences, Sugar is disheartened and sick of getting what she calls ‘the fuzzy end of the lollipop’. Now she is determined to hook a husband who will provide her with a comfortable lifestyle, even if their marriage is loveless. Although Sugar appears to be a rather shallow woman with very bad judgement, she has a vulnerable, sweet charm that wins over the audience as easily as it does Joe and Jerry. She admits to Joe that she is ‘not very bright’ and can’t help falling for the wrong sort of man. We might not agree with her choices in partners to date, but she made them because of love. However, knowing what we know about Joe, we feel rather pessimistic about Sugar’s chances of finding true happiness.


Jerry is similarly calculating at the start of the film, eager to win Sugar’s affections, but he soon shows his selfless side, taking the blame for the flask of alcohol Bienstock finds on the train even though it belongs to Sugar. Jerry is more empathetic and kindlier than Joe from the outset, and his behaviour provides us with a note of hope. Perhaps he will exert a positive influence on his friend and both will achieve fulfilment as a result.


As the film progresses, we begin to doubt that there can be a happy ending after all. Joe is using Sugar, she is using ‘Junior’ and Jerry is using Osgood, the millionaire he has just met. The cynical and selfish attitudes of the central characters contribute to a rather negative general vision and viewpoint despite the humour in the text.


However, each of the three characters gradually reveals hidden depths. Joe begins to fall in love with Sugar and questions the necessity of abandoning her when his alter ego, Junior, is proven to be a fake. He sees Sugar’s vulnerability and sweetness and, in the end, becomes a better, more sensitive and more generous man as a result. Joe even goes so far as to advise Sugar against falling for him, calling himself ‘a liar and a phony – a saxophone player – one of those no-goodnicks you’ve been running away from’. Jerry sees that Osgood is a kind and loving man and he begins to envision a life with him. Sugar realises that a good, kind partner is more important than wealth. Ultimately, all are bettered by their experiences and complicated connections, which leaves us with a positive and optimistic general vision and viewpoint.


368 King Lear and Comparatives


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