I was surprised I'd never heard of "Guest Wife" when I found it on YouTube. After all, I adore classic Hollywood films and it stars a couple actors I really like, Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. However, after seeing it, I can see why the film isn't more famous. It's not so much because it's bad...but it sure could have been a lot better considering the stars.
When the story begins, Chris Price (Dick Foran) tells his wife, Mary (Colbert), that an old friend of his is visiting and he wants to introduce them. However, when Joe (Ameche) arrives, he has a request...can he 'borrow' Mary as his wife! Let me explain. Joe is a bit of a jerk and isn't married nor has he ever been. He's a jerk because he's created a fictional wife in order to not only please his boss BUT to fenagle various presents for his 'wife' out of the boss! So, in order to not get caught, he wants to borrow Mary and pretend she's his wife! Any sane person would have said no....but then, there wouldn't have been a film! And, naturally, all sorts of complications ensue.
To say the plot is contrived is putting it mildly. In fact, it's pretty silly and hard to believe...and it's even harder to believe they didn't just call the whole thing off when things got too complicated. As a result, the film manages to be both pleasant and enjoyable...as well as dumb and hard to believe! And because my feelings are so mixed, I'd place this in the category of a 'time-passer'...worth seeing but also easy enough to skip.
When the story begins, Chris Price (Dick Foran) tells his wife, Mary (Colbert), that an old friend of his is visiting and he wants to introduce them. However, when Joe (Ameche) arrives, he has a request...can he 'borrow' Mary as his wife! Let me explain. Joe is a bit of a jerk and isn't married nor has he ever been. He's a jerk because he's created a fictional wife in order to not only please his boss BUT to fenagle various presents for his 'wife' out of the boss! So, in order to not get caught, he wants to borrow Mary and pretend she's his wife! Any sane person would have said no....but then, there wouldn't have been a film! And, naturally, all sorts of complications ensue.
To say the plot is contrived is putting it mildly. In fact, it's pretty silly and hard to believe...and it's even harder to believe they didn't just call the whole thing off when things got too complicated. As a result, the film manages to be both pleasant and enjoyable...as well as dumb and hard to believe! And because my feelings are so mixed, I'd place this in the category of a 'time-passer'...worth seeing but also easy enough to skip.