It Should Happen To You

Directed by George Cukor, It Should Happen To You follows Judy Holliday’s Gladys Glover as she becomes an overnight success after plastering her name on a prominent New York City billboard – with the resulting fame subsequently causing friction between Gladys and her new paramour (Jack Lemmon’s Pete Sheppard). It’s an exceedingly minor premise that’s employed to watchable yet mostly forgettable effect by Cukor, as the movie, which feels a little long even at 87 minutes, has been saddled with a sluggish narrative that’s been augmented with a variety of less-than-engrossing elements and attributes – with this especially true of the love triangle that eventually forms between Gladys, Pete, and a slick businessman (Peter Lawford’s Evan Adams III). There’s little doubt, then, that It Should Happen To You‘s extremely mild success is due almost entirely to the engaging efforts of its stars, as both Holliday and Lemmon deliver charismatic, compelling work that effectively (and thoroughly) elevates the impact of even the most underwhelming of sequences (and it doesn’t hurt, either, that the performers share a palpable amount of chemistry together). The relatively satisfying finale ensures that the whole thing ultimately concludes on a positive note, to be sure, which does, in the final analysis, cement It Should Happen To You‘s place as a just-good-enough endeavor that works best as a showcase for Holliday and Lemmon’s stellar acting.

**1/2 out of ****