There are a couple of movies I have near the top of my romantic comedy chart that tell two love stories at the same time. It's tough to balance, but when done right it can really shine. How to Marry a Millionaire attempts to tell three love stories at the same time, and it might be too much. Perhaps with a long enough runtime each romance could get enough screen-time to sell me, but at only 95 minutes with an extended musical intro, everything feels rushed. None of the 3 separate storyline has any time to breathe, and most of the romantic pairings share less than 20 minutes of screen time together. There's even a weird fashion-show break mid-movie that was strange and completely pointless for the plot.
Despite all that, I love the idea of How to Marry a Millionaire. We follow 3 women looking to find a rich man, and yet on their journey they find that the heart can lead you down a different path. It is the classic stuff you can expect from any number of romantic comedies, as the women create their own conflict in their relationships by going in with a particular expectation of the man they will marry. I can genuinely say I didn't see some of those romantic pairings coming at all, so at least there were some small surprises in the story progression. I only wish the runtime was longer (an extraordinarily rare complaint from me.) But the only other solution I could find to this script is to put a tighter focus on one of the relationships and leave the others as a footnote. I can appreciate the story of How to Marry a Millionaire and I don't regret seeing it, but it's not a film I'll likely revisit.
Despite all that, I love the idea of How to Marry a Millionaire. We follow 3 women looking to find a rich man, and yet on their journey they find that the heart can lead you down a different path. It is the classic stuff you can expect from any number of romantic comedies, as the women create their own conflict in their relationships by going in with a particular expectation of the man they will marry. I can genuinely say I didn't see some of those romantic pairings coming at all, so at least there were some small surprises in the story progression. I only wish the runtime was longer (an extraordinarily rare complaint from me.) But the only other solution I could find to this script is to put a tighter focus on one of the relationships and leave the others as a footnote. I can appreciate the story of How to Marry a Millionaire and I don't regret seeing it, but it's not a film I'll likely revisit.