The Pajama Game

What difference does 7 1/2 cents make?  An awful lot to the employees of the Sleeptite pajama factory, enough to threaten a budding romance between the shop supervisor and complaints director.  As a musical, the film is quite smile-worthy.  Although few of the songs would qualify as “great”, pretty much all of them are a lot of fun.  The dancing is quite excellent as well, with choreography by Bob Fosse.  The plot is paper-thin, but allows for situations where non-sequitur tunes can be dropped in easily without feeling out of place.  The color scheme pops off the screen, and a lot is made of the factory location.  And there’s a terrific cast of supporting actors.  Eddie Foy, Jr. and Reta Shaw contribute one of the movie’s most delightful numbers, “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again.”  Barbara Nichols (who was superb in Sweet Smell of Success) and Thelma Parish (refreshing respectful treatment of a plus-size actress) are a pleasure as well.  And Carol Haney brings a nice touch of comedy and terrific dance moves, especially in the most Fosse-esque routine, “Steam Heat.”  All around, it’s an enjoyable diversion.

With one notable exception: the leads.  John Raitt has a fantastic voice (and in one of the film’s cleverest moments, performs a duet with himself via dictaphone) but otherwise is a real dud.  He’s just a tremendously generic fella.  And Doris Day is some kind of black hole of personality.  You get sense that there’s an awful person behind that phony smile of hers.  With Harriet Andersson still fresh in my mind, Day feels very cold by comparison, with all the erotic charge of an egg salad sandwich.  There’s no chemistry between these plastic people, and not just because their relationship is rushed into before you even realize it’s started.  And so, the romance that drives the story is completely uninspiring.

But the accoutrements are lively and grand.  I give it a recommendation despite the lack of sizzle in and between its stars.  Rating: Good

IMDb