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It Happened One Night

My understanding was that this was the ur-romcom in a lot of ways, and it felt like that! The chemistry between the leads was great — and not great in a “great for its time” way. I thought the framing of the entire movie through the Greyhound bus was fun, and it’s hard not to see the threads of this movie (upstairs woman, downstairs rogue) show up in so many of its successors (His Girl Friday! Roman Holiday!) while having that basic structure not cheapen or dullen it in any way. I don’t think there’s anything, like, exclamatory about the film — I wouldn’t peg it for a five-Academy-Award winner — but it was good and fun and easy to recommend.

★★★½

About the Author

I'm Justin Duke — a software engineer, writer, and founder. I currently work as the CEO of Buttondown, the best way to start and grow your newsletter, and as a partner at Third South Capital.