On our recent mother/daughter get away to San Diego, we visited the island of Coronado and, of course, the Hotel Del Coronado. The night before, in preparation, we re-watched Some Like It Hot, that classic (1959) Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon movie that was filmed at this hotel. The movie is a long-time family favorite. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you find it and settle in for some good laughs.
The film is about two musicians who witness a massacre–based on the Valentine’s Day Massacre–and hide in drag in an all girls band to avoid being killed by the mob.
A little friendly warning. Many of the jokes are sexual in nature, though I’ve always thought they were mostly good-natured, some slapstick, and all fun rather than dirty. And I’ll also mention in this warning Marilyn Monroe’s costumes that do highlight her lush figure. That said, this movie is a classic for a reason. It is hilarious!
Along with the laughs, I love this about Some Like It Hot: all through the movie, Sugar thinks that she just wants money and Joe thinks all he wants is sex. And then they both are delightfully surprised to find that they have grown to want only each other. Once again that “Love Conquers All” theme–this time it conquers even these characters’ worst intentions.
Back to the hotel. After watching the movie, we had to walk around the hotel until we found the porch where the “millionaires” sat in rocking chairs. These were as Jerry calls them, “rich millionaires,” which makes us laugh every time. I mean, what other kind of millionaires are there? You’ll have to watch the movie to see.
What “Love Conquers All” movies do you love?
And when next you’re in San Diego, cross the bridge and walk around the Hotel Del Coronado and drink in the romance of the spot.
Some Like It Hot is a long-time family favorite — perhaps *the* family favorite — in my family too. I came to this the old-fashioned way: I married into it. (My good fortune.) This was several years after I stayed at “the Del” for a few nights on someone else’s dime, completely oblivious to its cinematic glories. Now we visit when we can, but stay somewhere cheaper, alas.
It was so beautiful that I checked the prices. I’m still gasping, but I saw in my mind’s eyes that line of rocking chairs with the “real millionaires.”