HER CARDBOARD LOVER was an adaptation of a stage farce that had been brought to the screen twice before MGM dusted it off in 1942. Buster Keaton, who starred in the second of these versions, once scoffed that life was too short for farce comedy-- indeed, this sort of high-speed, high-hysterical plot is not for everyone. Handled with the right actors and the right touch, it can be pulled off.
I'm not sure this film was really pulled it off. Robert Taylor is wonderful, goofy yet earnest in his puppy love, while Norma Shearer's character is so unlikable that I never bought into the budding romance between the two leads. And while farce is frivolous, at the end of the day, one does need to SOMEWHAT care in order for a story to retain interest. Even at 90-something minutes, the movie starts to sag in the middle. Another reviewer claims the movie feels "tired" and I would have to agree.
I'm not sure this film was really pulled it off. Robert Taylor is wonderful, goofy yet earnest in his puppy love, while Norma Shearer's character is so unlikable that I never bought into the budding romance between the two leads. And while farce is frivolous, at the end of the day, one does need to SOMEWHAT care in order for a story to retain interest. Even at 90-something minutes, the movie starts to sag in the middle. Another reviewer claims the movie feels "tired" and I would have to agree.