It's obvious that the main reason for this film's existence is an attempt to recapture the magic of the first pairing of Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, and Leo McCarey, namely 1937's "The Awful Truth." Unfortunately, the material isn't quite up to the task. The plot seems aimed at children; it can't be taken seriously, as it completely ignores any adult consequences arising from it. The film's saving grace is sex. While implicit in other screwball comedies, here it seems more pronounced, perhaps an attempt by Grant, Dunne, and McCarey to prop up the obviously weak material. And it works, creating for adults who care to look a sexual dimension, a dimension under the surface, one that's funny, outrageous, and even daring for something made in 1940.<br /><br />Cary Grant has married Gail Patrick. Married couples on their wedding night have sex. Irene Dunne rushes to stop this and succeeds. (Patrick complains to her mother on the phone that they drove "all night, **all** night!!) But Dunne seems to be a rather liberal lady, having no qualms about Grant's hesitation in telling his new wife the truth, nor with him going so far as to bringing her home and carrying her over the threshold! As Dunne has dallied with Randolph Scott, perhaps she's giving Grant the option of dallying with Patrick. Grant's hesitation in telling Patrick the truth may be an indication that part of him does want to at least consummate his new marriage. When outside forces prevent him from absent-mindedly doing so, as in the arrival of the insurance claim adjuster, he expresses relief. When he learns of the existence of Scott, he embraces jealousy as a means of getting his mind off wanting to make love with his new bride. <br /><br />It's interesting that even though Randolph Scott makes the obligatory declaration that, despite being on an island alone with Irene Dunne for 7 years, nothing happened, Dunne never validates this. In fact, her bemused expressions seem to indicate that she has trouble buying this as much as Grant does. The film is in fact consciously ambiguous here; it does nothing to paint as impossible the idea that perhaps Dunne and Scott were actually intimate on the island. <br /><br />The sexuality of the film comes to a climax in the last scene. Grant "wants to go to bed" in her room, while Dunne won't let him as long as he won't forgive her. She lies in bed, cooing with ecstasy at how comfortable she is, her expression dangling sex, suggesting if Grant needs time to think about it, he can wait until Christmas: "We'll have a **lovely** Christmas; what's 59 days more?" Grant can't take it anymore, forgiving her "for whatever happened" and comes back dressed as Santa Claus, looking to get his present now.<br /><br />Like "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," the film has a number of sight gags and jokes at the expense of Cary Grant's sexuality. Here it uses the well known fact that Cary Grant and Randolph Scott lived together for a number of years when Grant was between marriages as "bachelors." It has Grant almost swoon at the sight of a topless Scott taking a dive, and later has Grant sitting in his office, reliving the moment in his mind. And then there's the scene of Grant looking through women's clothing, holding them up to a mirror, while telling a doctor, "I have to go, he's waiting for me in the car!"<br /><br />The hilarious sexual undertones of the film are really brought to life through Irene Dunne. Her delivery, her expressions, her energy, are all very saucy. Cary Grant is very good reacting against her. It's for this reason that the two are able to rise above the silly material to create a rather sophisticated sex comedy, one that forgives natural indiscretions on the part of each party, and it's for this reason I give the film an 8/10.