Adam's Rib: A Classic Feminist Statement

Author's Rating:

Pros: wonderful Hepburn monologues, important topics addressed

Cons: somewhat disappointing resolution to second plot, annoying friend Kip

The Bottom Line: 
A great classic film with a feminist message.

Author's Review
Adam's Rib is the story of a couple on opposite sides of an ideological fence--a classic James Carville and Mary Matlin, if you will, except that the roles are reversed. Amanda and Adam Bonner (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are a happily married pair of lawyers who read in the morning paper about a woman who tried to shoot her cheating husband. On the way to work, they engage in heated discussion about this case, only to discover that Adam, the Assistant District Attorney, has been assigned the case. Amanda, who believes that this case is a matter of equal rights for women, decides to take matters into her own hands, and becomes the accused woman's defense attorney.

The rest of the film traces two stories. First, it tells the story of the trial, from jury selection to summations and the verdict. In these parts of the film, viewers can enjoy cute interactions between Adam and Amanda in the courtroom, including their favorite trick of both dropping pencils at the same time so that they can make faces at each other under the tables. Hepburn also provides some wonderful monologues about women's rights throughout the film, and the courtroom is one place we see these. Her summation at the end of the trial is particularly compelling.

The other story of the film, the one I found the most personally affecting and the most disappointing, was the story of how the trial affected their marriage. The strains put on their relationship by being on opposite sides of an issue that was emotional for both of them were convincingly portrayed in the first two-thirds of the film. This is a problem that many women today face, and I enjoyed seeing such a forthright portrayal of it. By the last third of the movie, however, I was highly frustrated with the turn that this story had taken, and while the resolution was acceptable, I felt that this last third in many ways undermined the feminist message of the film.

The film generally kept me interested, with the exception of most scenes containing Amanda's annoying musician client, Kip. I am not much of a classic movie fan, usually finding them fairly slow, so the fact that Adam's Rib kept me entertained is noteworthy. Some aspects of the film are dated, especially some of the humor, yet Amanda's speeches are actually quite relevant today (showing how little we have advanced), and the dry wit and teasing exchanged between Amanda and Adam are timeless. I would without hesitation recommend this movie to anyone interested in feminism and its history or its media portrayal, as well as to anyone who has faced ideological divisions among family and close friends. Adam's Rib explores both of these themes in an engaging and surprisingly relevant manner.

Rated G, black and white, runs 1 hour 50 minutes. Released 1949.