Friday, August 31, 2007

The Jayne Mansfield Collection DVD Review

“Jayne Mansfield Collection”

She always was considered a second-rate Marilyn Monroe, an exaggeration of the female form. Still, while on many levels those criticisms are true, there were movies (“The Wayward Bus,” “Kiss Them for Me”) that revealed a flash of dramatic promise before her career sank in the ‘60s and then her life was cut gruesomely short in a 1967 car accident.

Unfortunately, “Bus” and “Kiss” aren’t part of this boxed set from Fox, which doesn’t do much in mounting a defense for Mansfield’s legacy.

Instead, the three films assembled are--“Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?,” “The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw” and “The Girl Can’t Help It”--celebrate her only as a likable caricature. The included A&E documentary, “Blonde Ambition,” is worthwhile.

Grade: C+


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