"Unfinished Business" is billed as a comedy and romance. It is that, and more. The comedy is mostly of a biting nature, set in a plot that otherwise would be a serious drama. The plot sets up early around a theme that was prevalent in the movies, at least, of the first two- thirds of the 20th century. A small town guy or gal had to leave the "sticks" for the land of golden opportunity and/or the excitement of the big city. Most often it was the big apple, New York.
The story soon splits into smaller plots that overlap. The girl from the sticks meets and falls for a guy right away. He, of course, is just looking for some fun or a one-night stand. She meets another guy who happens to be the brother of her first love, although she doesn't know it at the time. He is a wealthy lush who doesn't like his brother and who, for some unknown reason, is running away from life by drowning his sorrows in a hedonistic lifestyle. But, he has a good heart, is affable and pleasant and takes the gal out one evening. They get plastered and wake up the next morning married. She then finds out he's the brother of the guy she fell for, but doesn't tell him. After some weeks of partying every night, he wants to stay home, and she still wants to live a night life that leaves her with no memories of the night before the next morning. In time, he falls in love with her.
The story continues from there, and one can guess many different endings. So, the one that comes is something of a surprise and good. It wraps up the complexity of this multi-plot story at least satisfactorily.
This is not the stuff around which comedies are built normally, and it's obvious why there weren't many such films made. But, with the biting humor, it is a sort of social commentary on the various escapist ideas of life – their fantasy and futility.
The cast all are very good. Irene Dunne plays Nancy, showing her great diversity in manners and mood for roles. Robert Young is very good as Tommy, her husband. And Eugene Palette is superb as Elmer, Tommy's butler and nursemaid. All the others of the cast are fine. Most of the comedy is provided by Elmer and Tommy.
The screenplay can't handle very well the complexity of the different subplots. It has gaping holes in places. And it has some sections of dialog that seem strange, not to belong or necessary. For instance, Tommy's experience as a baby with black cats. Nancy's romance in a one-night fling on a passenger train, and then her hurt and bitterness for many months afterward is a stretch. She's intelligent to begin with, and wary of just such encounters. We never know the cause of Tommy's wanting to escape from life by drowning himself in booze. The mood and attitude changes are sudden with Nancy and Tommy after many weeks of drinking themselves into stupors.
There are missing aspects of the wealthy, such as meeting family members before marriage. The film, for length, cuts out the night flight to South Carolina and Tommy and Nancy's getting married. It jumps from their split to Tommy suddenly in Army boot camp. He goes from a lush to stopping drinking, apparently overnight. Then there are a couple of strange exchanges between Nancy and Elmer. They aren't important for the plot and seem out of place as though they were inserted just to liven up the film with some comedy.
It's an interesting film, but not a comedy that provokes laughter. It's highest value may be in its look at the reality of a period of time in American culture. Many young people sought to pursue dreams of wealth, excitement, success and love with so little to go on, and while the vast majority of them never reached their dreams, those few who did often found lives that were far short of their fantasies.
Here are some humorous lines from the film. For more dialog samples, see the Quotes section in this IMDb Web page of the movie.
Frank, "You can't make an eagle out of a hen by changing the shape of the egg."
Tommy, "Where do you come from, anyway?" Nancy, "Messina, Ohio." Tommy, "Oh, Indian country."
Nancy, "You know, if you hadn't been with Mr. Duncan for such a long time, I'd fire you." Elmer, "I wouldn't mind. Give me a chance to catch up on some sleep." Nancy, "You're not my idea of a butler" Elmer, "You're not my idea."
Tommy, "You aren't complaining, Elmer?" Elmer, "Why should I complain? I've had two wonderful hours sleep every night for a week."
Nancy, "Well, it's all your fault. You said you were going to teach me how to live. I'm gonna learn if it kills me." Tommy, "Learning how to live is one thing. We didn't enter into a suicide pact."
Tommy, "Uh, Mrs. Duncan, I'd like to present Mrs. Duncan." Nancy, "How do you do!" Sheila, "I suppose we should all congratulate each other." Tommy, "I've already done it. You three can go ahead." Nancy, shaking hands with Sheila, "Congratulations!" Sheila, "Oh, congratulations!" Nancy, shaking hands with Steve, "Congratulations!" Steve, "Congratulations!" Nancy, "Maybe we can all celebrate our anniversaries together if our husbands remember." Sheila, "They can always be prompted."
Tommy, "I've been doing a lot of thinking this past year." Nancy, "Have you?" Tommy, "Yeah. The Army has a way of toughening up your muscles and softening up your pride." Nancy, "Well, you mustn't allow anything to soften your pride."
The story soon splits into smaller plots that overlap. The girl from the sticks meets and falls for a guy right away. He, of course, is just looking for some fun or a one-night stand. She meets another guy who happens to be the brother of her first love, although she doesn't know it at the time. He is a wealthy lush who doesn't like his brother and who, for some unknown reason, is running away from life by drowning his sorrows in a hedonistic lifestyle. But, he has a good heart, is affable and pleasant and takes the gal out one evening. They get plastered and wake up the next morning married. She then finds out he's the brother of the guy she fell for, but doesn't tell him. After some weeks of partying every night, he wants to stay home, and she still wants to live a night life that leaves her with no memories of the night before the next morning. In time, he falls in love with her.
The story continues from there, and one can guess many different endings. So, the one that comes is something of a surprise and good. It wraps up the complexity of this multi-plot story at least satisfactorily.
This is not the stuff around which comedies are built normally, and it's obvious why there weren't many such films made. But, with the biting humor, it is a sort of social commentary on the various escapist ideas of life – their fantasy and futility.
The cast all are very good. Irene Dunne plays Nancy, showing her great diversity in manners and mood for roles. Robert Young is very good as Tommy, her husband. And Eugene Palette is superb as Elmer, Tommy's butler and nursemaid. All the others of the cast are fine. Most of the comedy is provided by Elmer and Tommy.
The screenplay can't handle very well the complexity of the different subplots. It has gaping holes in places. And it has some sections of dialog that seem strange, not to belong or necessary. For instance, Tommy's experience as a baby with black cats. Nancy's romance in a one-night fling on a passenger train, and then her hurt and bitterness for many months afterward is a stretch. She's intelligent to begin with, and wary of just such encounters. We never know the cause of Tommy's wanting to escape from life by drowning himself in booze. The mood and attitude changes are sudden with Nancy and Tommy after many weeks of drinking themselves into stupors.
There are missing aspects of the wealthy, such as meeting family members before marriage. The film, for length, cuts out the night flight to South Carolina and Tommy and Nancy's getting married. It jumps from their split to Tommy suddenly in Army boot camp. He goes from a lush to stopping drinking, apparently overnight. Then there are a couple of strange exchanges between Nancy and Elmer. They aren't important for the plot and seem out of place as though they were inserted just to liven up the film with some comedy.
It's an interesting film, but not a comedy that provokes laughter. It's highest value may be in its look at the reality of a period of time in American culture. Many young people sought to pursue dreams of wealth, excitement, success and love with so little to go on, and while the vast majority of them never reached their dreams, those few who did often found lives that were far short of their fantasies.
Here are some humorous lines from the film. For more dialog samples, see the Quotes section in this IMDb Web page of the movie.
Frank, "You can't make an eagle out of a hen by changing the shape of the egg."
Tommy, "Where do you come from, anyway?" Nancy, "Messina, Ohio." Tommy, "Oh, Indian country."
Nancy, "You know, if you hadn't been with Mr. Duncan for such a long time, I'd fire you." Elmer, "I wouldn't mind. Give me a chance to catch up on some sleep." Nancy, "You're not my idea of a butler" Elmer, "You're not my idea."
Tommy, "You aren't complaining, Elmer?" Elmer, "Why should I complain? I've had two wonderful hours sleep every night for a week."
Nancy, "Well, it's all your fault. You said you were going to teach me how to live. I'm gonna learn if it kills me." Tommy, "Learning how to live is one thing. We didn't enter into a suicide pact."
Tommy, "Uh, Mrs. Duncan, I'd like to present Mrs. Duncan." Nancy, "How do you do!" Sheila, "I suppose we should all congratulate each other." Tommy, "I've already done it. You three can go ahead." Nancy, shaking hands with Sheila, "Congratulations!" Sheila, "Oh, congratulations!" Nancy, shaking hands with Steve, "Congratulations!" Steve, "Congratulations!" Nancy, "Maybe we can all celebrate our anniversaries together if our husbands remember." Sheila, "They can always be prompted."
Tommy, "I've been doing a lot of thinking this past year." Nancy, "Have you?" Tommy, "Yeah. The Army has a way of toughening up your muscles and softening up your pride." Nancy, "Well, you mustn't allow anything to soften your pride."