Last week, with the release of “Blended,” I discussed how hard it is for Hollywood stars to portray ordinary people. “The First Time,” a 1952 comedy directed by Frank Tashlin, which I discuss in this clip, brings the same theme to mind. It’s the story of a suburban, middle-class couple and their problems: in particular, they’re about to have a baby, and money will soon become an issue. Yet Tashlin’s film (his first feature, as the title wryly suggests) proved artistically successful because of his hyper-democratic approach to the matter: he treats all people as extraordinary, and allows no apparently ordinary deed or event to pass uninflected. He dignifies the most familiar characters and the most banal actions with their strange particulars—which is to say, with the freewheeling fancies of his own imagination. Tashlin burrows deep into his characters’ psyche and turns daily life into something rich and strange. By placing these everyday people on the same psychological footing as his actors, Tashlin allows the exceptional talents of the cast to become central to his comedic contrivances. And Tashlin knew from comic talent: he got his start directing Looney Tunes cartoons, and went on to make eight movies starring Jerry Lewis, an equally riotous cinematic democrat who, in turn, has often cited Tashlin as his cinematic mentor.
DVD of the Week: “The First Time”
