This is unquestionably a silly film but so much of it is pitch-perfectly zany that it doesn't matter how much of a stretch so much of it is or how ridiculous so many of the plot turns are. Grant and Ginger Rogers, as his wife, commit to the transformations caused by the serum and it leads to some predictable but hilarious scenes where they act first like they're in their twenties and then as if they're in pre-school. Grant gets a new hair cut, a new suit and a new car; crashes the car, and takes Marylin Monroe, the secretary of his boss - really just Monroe playing Monroe as she did in so many films and always pleasingly so - out on the town. Rogers pulls pranks on Grant's boss, before attempting to recreate their honeymoon night, which, of course, ends up disastrously. A fight gets out of hand, Rogers kicks out Grant, and calls up her lawyer to work on the divorce papers.
In the vein of screwball comedies (including director Howard Hawks' great Bringing Up Baby), this is a woozy escalation of events. The earlier comedy sequences seem quaint when compared to the ones towards the end (which really are testing credulity). Grant paints his face as an Indian and with the help of some neighborhood kids scalps the lawyer. Meanwhile, Rogers mistakes a baby for Grant, assuming the formula has gone terribly wrong and de-aged him too far.
There's no questioning this is a little dumb and a little goofy, but Hawks keeps the film humming along. The film never really takes a breather, continually pushing forward with one joke after another. And it's all so charming and funny that it doesn't matter that this is a little absurd. The film's enjoyment comes through its embracement of its absurdity.
The star power and the direction here turn what could very easily have been something bad into something with impeccable comedic timing.
Grade: A-
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