Let's Make Love (1960)

Let’s Make Love is a sort of bizarro version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Instead of following Marilyn Monroe’s pursuit of a rich man, Let’s Make Love follows a rich man’s pursuit of her. Instead of making Monroe the star of the show, allowing her to showcase a fully imagined character, it sidelines her as a one-dimensional object of desire. Instead of being a good film, it is a very bad one.

Monroe is still sharp late into her career, but the material does not support her. There is far too much solo screen time for her costar Yves Montand, a dull lead with whom she has no chemistry (ironic, given that Monroe had a widely publicized affair with Montand on the set of the film). Monroe had the uncanny ability to gaze into a scene partner’s eyes and look at them as if they are the most important person, or the only person, in the entire world. But when that person is a flat on-screen presence, her gaze conjures the sensation that she is staring into an abyss.

The storyline of Let’s Make Love is a mess, and the film puts Monroe in a role that has less depth than anything she’d played in a decade. Unless you are a Monroe completist, this forgettable film can be skipped.

Rating: 2/5