YOU BELONG TO ME (1941) *1/2 Henry Fonda plays such a spoiled little brat that his innate charm is in near total eclipse. Henry's charm, the character's charm is present if not abundant, which is kind of like putting aluminum siding on a marble palace. Barbara Stanwyck spends much of the film running around in one of the worst coats ever, and her others are improvements only in comparison. They both get really obnoxious without any particular stimulus, which I believe is to pass as a virtue. Or at least a character trait, perhaps all character traits are virtues in a society lacking individual elements at the expense of cogs, which is probably at least part of how Dalton Trumbo saw things. I'm not saying he was entirely wrong, but his efforts to bestow any social commentary here collides with itself, the result being something akin to a particularly gentle shot on a well manicured marble court. It has several funny moments, is well-humoured and -intentioned enough to generally invoke uneasy repose rather than scorn or contempt, and Harold Waldridge (a pretty good butler for those unfamiliar with Stephen Frye) and Edgar Buchanan are amusing hired help. It's all a little too much, and much too little. Yeah that was corny, too, I know.
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