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So much average

Best movie ever!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

"Woman of the Year" is a 1940's style "battle-of-the-sexes" story where it's both parties who want to be the one who's wearing the pants in this rocky relationship.When it comes to the realm of romance - Spencer Tracy (as sportswriter, Sam Craig) and Katherine Hepburn (as international columnist, Tess Harding) are the "least-likely-to succeed" couple.Matching wits and wisecracks against each other - Tracy and Hepburn verbally duke it out on screen for the obvious enjoyment of the audience.Filmed in b&w - "Woman of the Year" was directed by George Stevens. This would be the first of 8 films that paired Tracy and Hepburn together.

Woman of the Year is famous for many reasons, all of them falling under the heading of the off-screen romance it spawned. Katharine Hepburn, the famous feminist pioneer, and a married Spencer Tracy fell in love on the set, and their twenty-five year affair was one of the most famous Hollywood romances ever. Rumor has it that Katharine Hepburn's first words to her costar were that she was too tall for him, and Joe Mankiewicz reassured her, "Don't worry, honey. He'll soon cut you down to size." That quote sums up Woman of the Year perfectly.In the film, Kate and Spence clash during their first meeting. They work for the same newspaper and have different worldviews. Then, of course, they fall in love. In one famous scene, Spence takes her to a baseball game, and while he starts out having to explain every little detail to her about the rules, by the end, she's yelling herself hoarse and rooting for the right team. The meat of the film is a dramatic battle-of-the-sexes, much like their off-screen personas. Kate is a feminist at heart and doesn't want to change, even after she switches her role from woman to wife. Spence is an old-fashioned man and likes the gender roles the way they are. As the pair strives to remain a couple, they expose 1940s moviegoers to a new societal struggle: feminism.There are lots of reasons to rent this classic if you haven't yet seen it. It's a classic romance—films that involve an off-screen couple are always fun to watch—and it represents a very interesting cultural shift in the twentieth century. When the men were off fighting in WWII, women stayed home and, in essence, took over. They learned they could be breadwinners and have careers, and they enjoyed their independence. Gender roles and romantic responsibilities would never be the same again. Woman of the Year introduces that concept before the end of the war, warning audiences of the impending change.

Rival reporters Sam (Spencer Tracy) and Tess (Katharine Hepburn) fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle."Woman of the Year" was the first of nine films Hepburn and Tracy made together. They met for the first time on the shoot. In the 1993 documentary Katharine Hepburn: All About Me, Hepburn herself says she was wearing high heels at the first meeting with Tracy and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and said "I'm afraid I'm a bit tall for you, Mr. Tracy". Mankiewicz then responded, "Don't worry, Kate, he'll cut you down to size." It was during the filming of Woman of the Year that Hepburn and Tracy became romantically involved – a relationship that lasted until Tracy's death in 1967.Exactly what Tracy saw in Hepburn is beyond me. I have always found her acting ability overrated ,and her unusual voice and accent is quite obnoxious at times. I suspect she was right in her day and just kept on going fueled by past success. Much as the "husky voices" of Howard Hawks' women would not be popular today, but allowed some women -- notably Lauren Bacall -- to gain stardom.

Okay, I lied. There are still plenty of clichés in terms of the inevitable romance between co-workers that don't like each other. But this movie has a different feel to it. Mostly because of the great lead performances of Tracy and Hepburn. For a good part of the film, Hepburn remains hooked on her job and doesn't leave much time to be a wife. You start to feel for Tracy's character because it seems like every time they get close she gets a phone call and is then busy for hours. These type of issues still go on today, which is the reason why the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Film Registry as it being culturally and significantly important. Its a film that will live on for at least another 72 years due to it being incredibly relatable between couples these days.I believe this is the first of nine films Tracy and Hepburn collaborated and you can tell the great chemistry they developed while making this movie. I actually thought they handled Hepburn's character turn well. And I believed that she would try to finally start to try to work out their relationship. It was a very well written film with some surprising comedic moments. Usually when I watch some of the old Romantic Comedies I don't find any of the punch-lines funny. This movie on the other hand had some great moments, particularly near the ending. It had some of the best physical comedy I have seen from a movie made before the 50's.I look forward to watching more of this duo in the future and hope they can be as entertaining as this one was.7.7/10