Experiencing The Film Pillow Talk: Forgiving Behaviors by Olivia

Olivia Neal

Professor SInowitz

Romantic Comedy 

April 12, 2020

Experiencing The Film Pillow Talk: Forgiving Behaviors 

 Out of all the romantic comedy films we have watched so far, I found Micheal Gordon’s Pillow Talk to be my favorite. In my opinion, Pillow Talk is the most modern film we have seen thus far in our class. The intriguing characters and storyline of this film left me invested, laughing, and longing for more! However, even while enjoying this engaging film, I couldn’t help but notice the underlying sexism that flooded the storyline. That being said, I began to question how I was able to forgive this kind of behavior while watching a film I enjoyed. The film, Pillow Talk is filled with so many promising and compelling features that made me overlook the problematic issues of this film. Throughout this essay, I intend to discuss my experience of the film, Pillow Talk, and what made this romantic comedy so appealing to me, but also troubling at the same time. 

I started the film Pillow Talk by embracing the modernization, characters, and overall charm of the film. It is filled with so many appealing features; for starters, this film is in color! Not only is it in color, but Gordon decided to use bright colors to create an upbeat mood for the entire film. Pillow Talk also inhibits new screen displays that we have yet to see in any other romantic comedy so far, such as the split-screen in the iconic bathroom scene and then again used as a divider on the phone call scenes. Another reason I was attracted to this film is the modern fashion and design that this film takes on. For instance, all of the apartments, offices, restaurants, and character costumes are a high-end fashion that gives the audience an enchanting view of the film. Up next, is the charming cast. We are first introduced to the main character, Jan Morrow (Doris Day), as an independent New Yorker living alone in her lavish apartment. Her combination of style and confidence makes for her successful career as an interior decorator. Even though Jan is portrayed as a confident and self-sufficient woman, we quickly learn that her inexperience with men leads her to second guess her instincts. The leading male, Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), plays the other caller on the shared party line. Brad is a smooth-talking bachelor that knows how to get on every one of Jan’s nerves. He constantly hogs the telephone line with his late night and early morning phone calls.

Although I was very fascinated with this film, certain parts troubled me. I found there to be a great deal of sexism throughout this film that I couldn’t get past. How is it that I was able to be so invested in this film yet, it was filled with such triggering material? I find this to be a common theme throughout most romantic comedies. We can forgive these kinds of behaviors when watching a satisfying film such as Pillow Talk.  In terms of approval, it is human nature to seek out acceptance. In the film Pillow Talk, it shows how women during this time are continuously looking for a man’s approval, and in contrast, in today’s time, women have evolved and are now more self-sufficient and confident in their ability resulting in a woman not needing to rely on men or their approval. 

Throughout the film, Brad always finds a way to make Jane apologize for her irrational behavior making it seem as though she was in the wrong. He does this by giving her bad advice. Brad calls Jan to mock her because he knows she is inexperienced, and he also knows that Jan is aware that he is experienced. Having this prior knowledge, Jan trusted what Brad said, and began to second guess, Rex. Brad was only doing this to see if Jan would take his bait and embarrass herself in front of Rex, which she always did. 

Here is an example of the “advice” Brad gave to Jan.

 Jan: “He was a perfect gentleman.”

  Brad: “That’s even worse than I thought.”

 Jan: “What do you mean?”

Brad: “Well, there are some men… hmmm, how shall I put it? Well, they’re very fond of their mothers... They like to share a bit of gossip...collect recipes”(Gordon, 59:30-1:00:30). 

Brad is successfully putting doubt into Jan’s head to get a laugh out of watching her second guess herself, but he also knows the kind of person Jan is, and he knows she will be calling him back to “prove him wrong.” As expected, Jan does call Brad back in her packing scene before leaving for Connecticut with Rex to let Brad know that he was wrong about Rex’s sexuality (Gordon, 1:09:51-1:10:180). This only gives Brad more power knowing that she took his advice. I also see this as Jan needing Brad’s approval over her choice in men. 

Another example was while at a restaurant with Rex, Jan says, “Being a perfect gentleman isn’t always flattering.”(Gordon, 1:05:08-1:05:16). I feel like this says a lot about Jan’s expectations of men and how she is used to being treated. To Jan having a man openly “hit on her” or “make a move” is her way of justifying his approval and interest in her. So, when Rex doesn’t do any of this but remains a perfect gentleman, she takes it as a sign of him being uninterested in her because of the bad advice Brad gave her. I find this very problematic because it shows that Jan’s interpretation of approval is a man giving her physical attention and being straightforward with her about his attraction towards her. I feel that this is very different than in today’s time because it seems harder to find a gentleman and easier to find several guys that are eager to feed you compliments but might not always have the best interest in mind. Personally, I would find it more flattering to be with a gentleman such as Rex than to be with an overly confident man like Brad, who thinks he can act and treat a woman however he pleases. As a result, I found this comment to be unsettling and made me more aware of how this film portrays women and their expectations of how a man should treat them.  

In conclusion, I found Michael Gordon’s film, Pillow Talk, to have several different aspects to it that I both embraced and struggled with while watching. I would say this is because, as romantic comedies knowingly do, it made me long for things I do not have. The whole movie was made to seem “perfect” in every aspect, whether that be the excitement of the inner city life, the fashion, and beauty of Jan, or charming Brad/Rex. The audience is supposed to long for this lifestyle and mood the film gives off to hide the underlying flaws. In this case, that flaw is sexism. I wasn’t able to get past the way Jan was portrayed as a woman who sought out approval from Brad in almost every aspect of her relationship. She needed a man’s approval to feel secure and confident in her relationship. I think one of the main reasons that this stood out to me so much was because that is so unrealistic for today’s society. I feel that women have evolved, and although it is human nature to seek out approval, we, as women, are not infatuated with the idea of valuing a man’s approval over our own.

Work Cited

Gordon, Michael, director. Pillow Talk. 1959.