Another OVERRATED film

Why even post?
Only giving the trolls what they want.

No question the OP is a troll. Anytime someone hates a classic movie without even beginning to argue the reasons why is simply trying to stir up the fans of said movie. Ignore him and hopefully he will go away.

no love for shirley here? c'mon she was at her most adorable, girl can't help falling for the wrong man sometimes, she came out alright in the end, relationship-wise,

The Original poster never returned. What a surprise!

Anyway, this is a favorite with the seniors in my movie group, and I'll be showing it again within the next three weeks.

Old age isn't for sissies--Bette Davis

I know that the "overrated" thread is practically required for any film that won the Best Picture Oscar or is considered a classic...

...but this one really was highly regarded in its time.

It has been noted here and elsewhere that in 1959 and 1960, three directors -- Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, and Billy Wilder -- took it upon themselves to "push the envelope" of the Hays Code and movies with more adult themes, sex and (sometimes) violence:

North by Northwest
Some Like It Hot
Anatomy of a Murder
Psycho
The Apartment

Of that group, The Apartment won Best Picture because in 1959(the year of NBNW, Some Like It Hot, Anatomy) the mega-epic Ben-Hur cleaned the table, but in 1960, the compeition for Best Picture was much less rough(especially with Psycho, the giant hit of 1960, not even nominated.)

But what put The Apartment over the top for Billy Wilder were these elements:

The overt sexuality and adultery("This is a movie about f-ing," said Wilder to someone)
The harsh look at the crushing anonymity of corporate life in American (whether in skyscrapers or lower to the ground) as felt by so many Americans(all those desks!)
The careful mix of broad comedy(the "Grand Hotel" TV sequence) with painful drama(Fran's suicide attempt.)

The brilliantly worked-out screenplay, which kept Lemmon's character in agony til pretty much the last minute of the film, as he found out about MacLaine's affair with MacMurray and tried to save her for the awful MacMurray -- all the while both climbing the career ladder and suffering from a mistaken identity as " heartless ladies man".

Social commentary, verboten sex, comedy, tears..The Apartment had it all and captured 1960 (as did Psycho) in a time capsule forever more.

Key: this "light New York romantic comedy" in stark black and white. This ain't Rock and Doris. But the black and white is Panavision, giving the movie an epic feeling.