MovieChat Forums > The Apartment (1960) Discussion > Jack Lemmon's OVERacting...

Jack Lemmon's OVERacting...

posted 16 years ago by robertodelamar
99 replies | jump to latest

The Apartment is the first movie I have seen with Jack Lemmon.

Lemmon is clearly overacting throughout the whole movie (in almost every scene).
Maybe this was normal for the 60s, but seriously, the farce looks almost like a sitcom. I.e: "Bewitched" TV show from the 60-70s where the male character does the same overacting (as Lemmom in The Apartment), but appropriate for a TV show.

I guess Jerry Lewis was overacting in his movies as well in the same period, but his was a deliberate method that was part of his comedy routine, ditto for the way Woody Allen effectively overacted through the 70s and 80s.

But Jack Lemmon was trying (and desperately failing) to do both drama and comedy. It was as ridiculous as that awful Rodney Dangerfield OVERacting in that film Back to School, where you are supposed to first cry at directors cue and then to laugh and then to cry again.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] robertodelamar 14 years ago

That was precisely my main point.

As admirable as "Jim Carrey"-type ebullience may be, it detracts from (if not ruins) serious scenes of a drama..

[–] fortunate1 14 years ago

You're comparing Jack Lemmon in this film to Jim Carrey?
(and misusing 'ebullient' in the case of Lemmon's acting here.)
Wow! Your take is unfathomable, really.

[–] nutsberryfarm 10 years ago

jack lemmon is a spaz.

The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money.-James Madison

[–] fortunate1 14 years ago

sea-bob,
your post made my jaw drop,
1) because i don't believe you know what acting -real acting is- and,
2) because i don't think you'd recognise subtlety if it bit you in the leg.

i can't fathom the way you see cinema (much less theater).

[–] scott_uk88 14 years ago

I guess all this comes down to a person's definition of over-acting. For me I thought Jack Lemmon in this film was perfect - absolutely charming.

[–] Kanamit99 14 years ago

It is not really over acting because this is Jack Lemon's acting style. He always act like this. He has this unusual frenetic acting style like he was on speed.

On the other hand, how many people in really life acts this way? No one jumps around and speaks so fast. Or exaggerated movements like it was some silent movie.

You don't see this over the top acting style these days.

[–] bacci40 14 years ago

i think the people in this thread need to research wilder's directing style

he didnt allow actors to create their own characters...he told them exactly what to do...and if they didnt do it, they were gone

he wanted lemon to be the shmo...he wasnt supposed to be a likable character

there are only 3 likable characters in the entire movie, the couple next door and the landlady.....thats it....and its done on purpose

the apt is wilder's commentary on the great american dream...which is basically a nightmare...a black, cynical comedy

lemon is brilliant in his role, as is mcclain and macmurray

[–] collin-reid 14 years ago

Nice point bacci40 although I suspect Wilder gave Lemmon more room to act than anybody else he worked with. Realize, somebody said that once Wilder worked with Lemmon, he wanted him for life. However, Lemmon was very specific about what he wanted from an actor and seemed to be a bit cranky on the set if the acting talent did not follow his exact instructions. (Sabrina, Some Like It Hot (Monroe) and especially One, Two, Three had significant issues.) The only othe movie I am guessing Wilder let the actors more control would have been Fortune Cookie when Lemmon and Mathau really were in their zone.

That said I suspect Wilder told to be more obnixous in the beginning and move the character to more serious as the movie progress. Using the cold to represent Baxter unhappiness with the situation, Billy let Lemmon loose a little more to get the early laughs. (Lemmon did the great nose spray gag which probably the most inprovising ever in a Wilder film.) Once the second act starts, Lemmon really shines with more of a serious approach all the while maximizing the whole tennis racket scenes. I thought he should have won the Oscar and really carried a great movie.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 12 years ago

This is what Wilder had to say, per Wikipedia:

"Wilder felt Lemmon had a natural tendency toward overacting that had to be tempered; the Wilder biography Nobody's Perfect quotes the director as saying, 'Lemmon, I would describe him as a ham, a fine ham, and with ham you have to trim a little fat'."

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] megatosspot 14 years ago

Ahem - Jim Carrey?

[–] weirdturnpro 13 years ago

You are an idiot. People like you shouldn't try to watch real movies.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] TCall2004 13 years ago

Excuse me?

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] aciolino 13 years ago

How sad for you.