Businessman Clemson Reade (Cary Grant) befriends the Khan of Bukistan who presents Princess Tarji (Betta St. John) to him. He returns home to find his fiancée Effie (Deborah Kerr) busy with her high level State Department job. He wants a wife who is happy to just cook and clean for him. He decides to propose marriage to the princess. It gets more complicated. America needs Bukistan's oil. Effie is given the job to ensure a happy marriage.
Clemson is initially a jerk, but that allows for some character growth. The problem is mostly in the proposal. It needs to be a comedic mistake. He can't actually propose marriage. It diminishes his relationship with Effie and it's not fair to the princess. That situation does improve a little as the princess gains more agency. It would be better if she finds a man of her own. If the proposal is a mistake, he would still need to go through with it for his business and she needs to help for the country's business. I try not to take the out-of-date battle of the sexes too seriously. I just think that the love triangle is not set up properly. Despite Cary Grant's ample charms, I still find his character more frustrating than funny. Some of this has a bit of screwball comedy fun, but the movie is set up wrong.
Clemson is initially a jerk, but that allows for some character growth. The problem is mostly in the proposal. It needs to be a comedic mistake. He can't actually propose marriage. It diminishes his relationship with Effie and it's not fair to the princess. That situation does improve a little as the princess gains more agency. It would be better if she finds a man of her own. If the proposal is a mistake, he would still need to go through with it for his business and she needs to help for the country's business. I try not to take the out-of-date battle of the sexes too seriously. I just think that the love triangle is not set up properly. Despite Cary Grant's ample charms, I still find his character more frustrating than funny. Some of this has a bit of screwball comedy fun, but the movie is set up wrong.