Thanks for your analysis, which is very instructive. I viewed "His Girl Friday" last week, and when I read your response I hopped to the library and checked out "The Philadelphia Story" -- which I watched last night -- and "It Happened One Night" -- for tonight.

I especially appreciate the observation you made (below) as it reminded me that Bud Baxter did, in fact, achieve what he "wanted" -- only to realize it wasn't what he "needed..."

(Scott said: "But in my view, the centerpiece of The Apartment is Baxter's struggle with his conscience, bringing to mind the Biblical verse, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his very self?" That's precisely the experience Baxter has when he's finally made it to the top ("business-wise") and yet at what sacrifice to his "very self." And so the Protagonist is 'redeemed' when he turns his back on all the trappings of success -- and like all classic Hollywood movies, he ends up getting the 'girl.')

That is the same dynamic used in another of my favorite rom-coms, "Tootsie."

You also pose a great Q in "what if The Apartment was told from Fran Kubelik's POV? What if she was the story's Protagonist?" After reading the excerpts you provided from the NYT review, I suspect the resulting movie wouldn't have been deemed appropriate. Gulp.

Thanks for your thoughts on this!

judy

Tootsie is a great movie! I'll have to do a Daily Dialogue from that soon. Thanks for bringing it to mind! And let me know what you think of It Happened One Night. Been years since I've seen it, but I remember enjoying it a lot.