Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Marilyn Monroe plays Lorelei, a blonde cabaret artist with a strong interest in money, and in men who possess it. Together with her friend Dorothy (Jane Russell), she gets into all kinds of trouble on a trip to France aboard a transatlantic cruise ship. Lorelei is engaged, and her suspicious future father-in-law hires a private detective to keep an eye on her during the cruise. The detective gets hold of seemingly compromising evidence against Lorelei, and the film's heroines pull out all the stops to save the situation. The film plays with and ironizes gender role patterns and female representation. Monroe's Lorelei is a parody of the baby-voiced blonde who has no other goals in life than to use her looks in the pursuit of wealth, preferably in the form of sparkling diamonds. One of the most iconic musical numbers of all time, particularly famous for being copied by Madonna in the "Material Girl" video, is Marilyn's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". Here she descends a magnificent staircase dressed in a hot pink gown that constantly threatens to slip down her chest, surrounded by anonymous men in suits competing to give her jewelry. Brunette Dorothy is sharp-tongued and tough, a typical "Hawksian woman". She cares more about physique than economics when it comes to male preferences, which is emphasized in the fantastic number "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?". It takes place in the cruise ship's gym and swimming pool with Dorothy and about 20 half-naked men who are supposed to represent the US Olympic team on their way to championships in Europe (and who are clearly more interested in each other than in her). Lorelei, who is portrayed as rather simple-minded herself, thinks Dorothy is short-sighted and naive for only thinking about love and sex. Regardless of which of them is right, the men in the film are generally even dumber.