The beginning of No Time for Comedy led me to think the plot was going in a certain direction, but it completely went down a different path in the second half of the film. James Stewart started the movie off as a midwestern hick who made a splash hit on Broadway with his first play. Rosalind Russell was the leading lady, and immediately after they received positive reviews after opening night, she proposes marriage to him. It seemed to me that she didn't really love him and just wanted to trap him for his talent, so he would write play after play for her to star in.
But in the second half, Jimmy's character completely changes. He turns into a typical "artist" whose moods revolve around his work. He leaves home and goes on a bender from bar to bar in Manhattan whenever he feels blocked, and he treats his wife with very little respect. Where is the country bumpkin from the start of the movie? And if Roz didn't really love him, she shouldn't care if he strays as long as the plays keep being written. There comes a time when Roz has to choose between a temperamental, unfaithful, selfish man who's only as successful as his latest play; and a classy, mature, even-tempered millionaire. I'd pick Charlie Ruggles every time, but leads in romantic comedies usually make the wrong choice.
There's also another unpleasant element in this film: racism towards Louise Beavers. She plays a "Mammy knock-off" and is constantly the butt of every joke. She mispronounces large words, she speaks with incorrect grammar, and when she can't make it as an actress she ends up working as a domestic (complete with uniform) for Roz. It's supposed to be a laugh line that she asks after the motivation of her bit-part character on the stage; James Stewart tells her to just keep answering doors the way she's been doing and she'll be fine. For a woman who played the lead in Imitation of Life, it's insulting for her to sink to such a role.
But in the second half, Jimmy's character completely changes. He turns into a typical "artist" whose moods revolve around his work. He leaves home and goes on a bender from bar to bar in Manhattan whenever he feels blocked, and he treats his wife with very little respect. Where is the country bumpkin from the start of the movie? And if Roz didn't really love him, she shouldn't care if he strays as long as the plays keep being written. There comes a time when Roz has to choose between a temperamental, unfaithful, selfish man who's only as successful as his latest play; and a classy, mature, even-tempered millionaire. I'd pick Charlie Ruggles every time, but leads in romantic comedies usually make the wrong choice.
There's also another unpleasant element in this film: racism towards Louise Beavers. She plays a "Mammy knock-off" and is constantly the butt of every joke. She mispronounces large words, she speaks with incorrect grammar, and when she can't make it as an actress she ends up working as a domestic (complete with uniform) for Roz. It's supposed to be a laugh line that she asks after the motivation of her bit-part character on the stage; James Stewart tells her to just keep answering doors the way she's been doing and she'll be fine. For a woman who played the lead in Imitation of Life, it's insulting for her to sink to such a role.