Three Reasons: The Palm Beach Story

Written and directed by the master, Preston Sturges, it moves faster than a rollercoaster and it will leave you just as breathless. All four of the leads—Joel McRae, Claudette Colbert, Rudy Valee, and Mary Astor—banter with lightning speed while dressed to the nines. Stocked with delicious cameos, set in divine locations, it’s an exhilarating romp of escalating  absurdity and hilarious situations. To top it off, the happy/unhappy couple at the center of it all are named Tom and Gerry, and the film is jammed with almost cartoonish slapstick on top of all the verbal pyrotechnics. Of course, Preston Sturges appreciated Tom and Jerry. It’s one of the things that make Sturges so unique, low and high comedy seamlessly interwoven. 

And if you never knew why America loved Rudy Valee, this film will make you swoon over him too.