Romancefest 2011: Woman of the Year

WOMAN OF THE YEAR marks the third Katherine Hepburn flick of Romancefest 2011 so far. It’s interesting to watch so many Hepburn flicks back to back because you can really appreciate the subtleties of what makes her such a great and iconic actress. At a glance, she has such a strong persona, you could easily think every performance of hers was the same. But, examined individually, you can clearly see the Hepburn of AFRICAN QUEEN is not the Hepburn of BRINGING UP BABY – and neither of them are the Hepburn of WOMAN OF THE YEAR.

However, I’d say Hepburn in WOMAN OF THE YEAR is probably most like what I’d call her famous persona. . . glamorous while sticking to business, feminine while hanging with the guys, and above all, smart.

The juxtaposition of putting her opposite an actor like Spencer Tracy is genius. This is one of those cases where the casting gets about half the story telling done. The story involves Spencer Tracy, as a down to Earth sports writer, entering into a little bit of editorial column warfare with a high profile, globetrotting columnist played by Hepburn. He’s one of the grunts at the paper and she’s one of the stars. Their feud blossoms into mutual admiration, romance, and then marriage. Then, they have to learn how to live with each other, and their egos.

The juxtaposition of putting Hepburn opposite an actor like Tracy is genius. This is one of those cases where the casting gets about half the story telling done. Tracy is able to be a handsome movie star without having that somewhat untouchable quality that some leading men end up with sometimes. Watching him, you truly believe he’s just a regular, likable, common sense guy. In the movie, even when he’s pissed off or upset or let down, he’s totally sympathetic. Hepburn is also sympathetic, if only because you have to admire someone who’s as put together as she seems to be.

The whole “battle of the sexes” angle is a little antiquated and can get weird for a modern audience at times, but the movie’s heart is in the right place, and in the climactic scene it’s fun to watch Hepburn attempt to cook breakfast in a pinafore-style dress as if she’s never seen a kitchen before.