Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Two American showgirls, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, are best friends with different tastes in men; Marilyn wants them rich while Jane just cares that they’re attractive. The two head to France on a cruise, unknowingly followed by a detective Monroe’s suspicious future father-in-law has hired to spy on her. The story is clichéd and uninteresting, the men are almost universally immature jerks, and the continuity is so off that I had to rewind multiple times to see if I had missed something. What it does have going for it is a refusal to condemn the women for their romantic choices, particularly within the constraints of the era in which they lived. Russell gets a chance to shine by frolicking with the entire American Olympic team who are clad only in flesh colored short shorts while Monroe has her iconic ‘Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend’ number.