Bombshell

Stars shine for a very long time. Some continue to shine in our firmament long after their light has gone out … due to being so far away from us. So it is here with Jean Harlow. She's a hoot throughout these proceedings--charming and funny, and though certainly distant from now, you can see a certain proto-postmodernism in her performance. Her work drives the film, which is a star vehicle that exudes '30s style but is nevertheless remarkably modern in its world view. Unlike a lot of old comedies, a number of the lines and bits present herein are actually funny, regardless of time and place. The overall feeling you get watching this flick--a mixture of the archaic and the contemporary, combined with its being as sharp as a tack even in comparison with today's works (particularly in its critique of media driven culture) makes the whole thing a piece of high-quality work. It's too bad Harlow was lost so soon; she could have left a really strong legacy if the rest of her career could have been as strong as this one.