MISTER ROBERTS

"Mister Roberts" is a World War 2 comedy drama about the life on a US ship called the "S.S. Reluctant". The film stars William Powell, James Cagney, Jack Lemmon and Henry Fonda as Mister Roberts. There's not really too much of a plot or story, it's just a comedic look on life in the Navy.
 




Henry Fonda as Mister Roberts is a character I loved and rooted for throughout the film. He's not too much of a funny character as Cagney or Lemmon but you still love him. He always thinks of his crew members and you are just as eager as he is, to have him get transferred off the ship. Once he starts falling into Cagney's hands, all the joy you got from him is gone but you still sense that he's going to get even with Cagney. This is a well written character and a fine performance by the great Henry Fonda.



James Cagney as the captain is the films asshole villain and kill joy to all the fun things that are happening. James Cagney does a great job portraying this nasty captain who obsesses over his Palm Tree. While being the guy you want the characters to smack or get even with, he's very funny while at the same time keeping his tough guy approach. He's simply the character that you love to hate.



Then we have Jack Lemmon who's the films comic relief. I love Jack Lemmon and watching him in this film gives me tons of laughs. His character is lazy but he thinks of ways to get back at the captain and lure girls on board. His dialogue is funny, the things he does are insane and on top of it Jack Lemmon won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and he deserves it. It's truly one of Lemmons best performances.



Finally we have William Powell as the Doctor in his last performance ever. Knowing that it's the "Thin Man's" last performance to a film buff, it makes you feel sad and just like everyone else, I enjoy him whenever he's on screen. I'll admit he's not as funny as Lemmon or Cagney but just like Fonda, he's very likable. This is a good end to his career.



As for the film itself it's not that kind of spectacular comedy I was hoping for. The choice of actors is great and they all do a good job. The humor is funny and has some very memorable scenes. I also enjoy watching the crew peep on girls, get drunk and spend time with our main character. The problem for me is, like "Hot Shots" it doesn't have much of a good or interesting story, it feels kind of bland and there are moments that feel slow and boring too.

The stories not that interesting for a comedy but what makes the film work is the casting, the humor and characters. It's defiantly a good comedy and it's epic seeing all these four great stars together.

RATING 4/5