Charade

Composite Score: 85.5

Starring: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Ned Glass, Dominique Minot, Jacques Marin, and Thomas Chelimsky

Director: Stanley Donen

Writers: Peter Stone and Marc Behm

Genres: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

MPAA Rating: Passed

Box Office: $173,057 worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Charade is a mystery thriller/romantic comedy from the 1960s about a woman who becomes entangled in a criminal group’s search for $250,000 when her husband, the last known possessor of said fortune, is found dead in France. The film stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant as the romantic leads – Hepburn portraying the recently widowed Regina Lampert across from Grant’s enigmatic Peter Joshua, a man who knows more than he lets on about the details of the cash and Regina’s husband’s past life. It also features Walter Matthau as Hamilton Bartholomew, agent of the American Embassy, and James Coburn, George Kennedy, and Ned Glass as the trio of thieves after the money – Tex Panthollow, Herman Scobie, and Leopold W. Gideon, respectively. The film’s many twists, turns, and reveals keep the suspense high while Hepburn and Grant do more than their fair share of maintaining the romantic chemistry. The film received an Oscar nomination for its theme song “Charade” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, and it continues to be celebrated for its apt blending of genres into a cohesive piece of entertainment, which has spawned many successors.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Your love for genre films will most likely determine your enjoyment of Charade. It’s a blend of two highly popular genres that is sure to please the vast majority of audiences, but some people simply can’t stand romantic comedies and/or mystery thrillers, so if you happen to land in that very small minority, consider this your warning. Both genres exist at their most basic but also most effective in this film, complete with a meet-cute, best friend, complications due to lying (which I suppose goes for both), rich cast of suspects, slow whittling of the suspects by death, and so on. The blend makes for a fantastic romp for most audiences, but those averse to such films probably won’t find themselves swayed by this one.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                For me, Charade is one of the better examples of overt genre blending in film, executing its mix of romance and mystery of comedy and thriller better than most of the films that have come since. While many films, especially in recent years, have delved into the best ways to mix romantic comedy with mystery thriller, none of them have quite hit the nail on the head like Charade does, and I think that’s due to a combination of its era, its writing, and the undeniable chemistry of the two leads. What helps Charade about being a film from the 1960s is its ability to exist as a genre-blend without constantly winking at the audience about that fact. While I appreciate a good fourth wall break as much as the next guy, the modern era has so many that the self-awareness has a tendency to become more grating than endearing, so being able to watch a film that just is a romantic comedy and mystery thriller without having to acknowledge that irony at every turn comes as a breath of fresh air. Additionally, the script from Peter Stone (Father Goose and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) and Marc Behm (Help!) is so full of other jokes and character moments that there’s no need to populate the film with asides to keep the audience entertained – the story and dialogue do that themselves. Finally, despite an age gap of twenty-five years, the seasoned pair of movie stars at the film’s center play so easily off of each other (and look so good doing it) that their romance feels as natural as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in a Nora Ephron film. It’s brilliant and enjoyable as the whole thing unfolds.

                Charade is a prime example of taking two things that audiences love – romantic comedies and mystery thrillers – and blending them together to make something even better thanks to some excellent writing and chemistry, earning the film a spot among the greats. While it doesn’t have much to offer fans of other genres or those seeking “richer” films, the endless rewatchability of this classic makes it an easy one to love. You can currently stream it on Amazon Prime Video if you’d like to catch it in the coming days.