“The Apartment” is about C.C. Baxter, a young insurance company worker, who lets his bosses use his apartment for extramarital affairs. The whole thing plays like the cheat-on-your-wife version of Air B&B, except Baxter doesn’t get paid—rather, he is promised a future promotion. Meanwhile, Baxter begins to crush on elevator operator Fran Kubelik, and this is where the whole film pivots from silly comedy to something else. Baxter comes home to discover Fran in his bed, unconscious. She was wooed back into an ongoing affair by Jeff Sheldrake, personnel manager; when she realized his advances were again built on lies, she tries to kill herself by overdosing on Baxter’s sleeping pills.
The next good chunk of the film involves Baxter and his neighbor Dr. Dreyfuss nursing Fran back to heath. The two connect as humans (in a way that hardly feels romantic) yet the nebbish Baxter continues to report out on Fran’s progress to Sheldrake. Fran eventually recovers and as a reward, Baxter gets that promotion he’s always wanted—although, he continues to get pushed around and feel rather empty. Will he stand up for himself? I've already spoiled a lot, so you'll have to watch to find out.
I loved this film. Part zany comedy, part emotions-on-sleeves romance, this film strikes right down the middle of my film and story preferences. The film’s pivot from silly premise to human story was a real magic trick, sold entirely by the root-able qualities in Jack Lemmon (Baxter) and Shriley MacLaine (Fran). I loved the design/setting (‘Mad Men’ before ‘Mad Men’) and can’t help but feel guilty for my attraction to the era. 60 years old, the film genuinely made me “LOL” and fall in love. That’s all you can ask for from a movie!