Why The Seven Year Itch is the most overrated movie of Marilyn Monroe

 The Seven Year Itch is undoubtedly one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic films, but also, in my opinion, one of the most overrated. Some time ago, I published a top 10 list of Marilyn’s best leading films, and I ranked this one at number 9 — probably the movie I was most critical of. In this article, I want to explain in more detail the reasons behind that choice. I’ll discuss both the good and the bad aspects, but above all, I want to explain why I consider The Seven Year Itch to be Marilyn Monroe’s most overrated leading film. I emphasize “leading,” because there are other movies where Marilyn plays smaller roles that I also find overrated — but that’s a topic for another article.

The Seven Year Itch is a comedy directed by Billy Wilder, with a screenplay by Wilder himself and George Axelrod, who also wrote the stage play on which it’s based. The film stars Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe. The story follows Richard Sherman, an office worker who stays behind in New York while his wife and son go on vacation. Soon, a beautiful, unnamed young woman moves into the building, sparking Richard’s fantasies and midlife desires brought on by the so-called “seven-year itch.”

The Seven Year Itch is a good movie — it really is. It’s a fairly funny comedy with clever moments, but I think it’s far too famous within Marilyn Monroe’s filmography compared to its actual quality. In my top 10 of Marilyn’s leading roles, I placed it at number 9; and if we look at all 29 films she appeared in, I’d rank it slightly lower, around number 10 overall. However, in terms of fame, The Seven Year Itch is probably the second or third most famous film of her career, roughly on the same level as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and only surpassed by Some Like It Hot. For example, The Prince and the Showgirl can be compared to The Seven Year Itch, since both are comedies with a theatrical tone and focus heavily on two main characters. Yet The Prince and the Showgirl is much less well-known — though, in my view, it’s the better film: funnier, with richer sets, and featuring stronger and more balanced performances.

The Seven Year Itch is probably the Marilyn Monroe film that disappointed me the most compared to my expectations. I honestly expected it to be her second-best movie for several reasons: first, its fame (it’s one of Marilyn’s most well-known films); second, its iconic scenes — especially the one with the subway grate; and third, Billy Wilder, the same brilliant director who made Some Like It Hot. But after watching it, I have to say it really let me down.

It’s a fun comedy, yes, but it’s far from the level of Some Like It Hot or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The film feels very theatrical, with almost the entire story taking place inside Richard Sherman’s apartment, which makes it monotonous. There are very few characters, and they appear much less frequently compared to the two leads. The Girl (Marilyn’s character) has far less screen time than Richard Sherman, who dominates the movie, even though Marilyn is clearly what everyone wants to see. The famous subway grate scene, which looks incredible in photographs, turns out to be just another brief moment in the movie — almost filler — and far less visually striking than the images suggest. I’m pretty sure that after Billy Wilder’s heavy marketing around that scene, many people went to see the film just for it and ended up disappointed. I also think the bathtub scene was wasted: it’s amusing, but it could have been handled much better.

Moving on to Marilyn, this film presents an interesting issue. As I mentioned earlier, The Seven Year Itch is one of the most famous movies in her career, but in my view, it’s far from being one of her best performances. Many people label several of Marilyn’s roles as “dumb blondes,” but in my opinion, most of them aren’t. Characters like Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot, Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, or Elsie Marina in The Prince and the Showgirl might seem naive, but they’re actually much more complex. Lorelei and Elsie prove to be clever and self-aware, and Sugar is a deeply emotional character with clear dramatic undertones. However, in the case of “The Girl” in The Seven Year Itch, she truly fits the “dumb blonde” archetype. She’s sweet, cheerful, and charming —as most of Marilyn’s roles were— but her innocence is taken to the extreme. At times, she seems more like a child than an adult woman. The iconic subway grate scene is a good example, but there are many others that follow the same tone. She’s a lovely character, but undeniably shallow: she doesn’t evolve at all throughout the film, and there isn’t a single truly dramatic moment for her. She remains in a constant state of happiness from start to finish.

To be fair, Marilyn plays exactly what the script requires, and she does it well. But compared to her other roles, this is definitely not among her strongest performances. Still, the character’s warmth makes her instantly likable to most viewers. Objectively speaking, it’s one of her weaker performances —which actually says a lot about her talent, since even her “weaker” roles are still very good. The problem is that The Seven Year Itch is one of her most famous movies. Because it isn’t one of her best performances, its fame has distorted the public perception of Marilyn as an actress. Many people haven’t seen The Misfits or Bus Stop —films that truly show her dramatic abilities— but they have seen The Seven Year Itch. So, someone who’s only watched Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes would likely see her as one of the greatest comedic actresses of all time, but not necessarily as one of the greatest actresses overall, on the level of Marlon Brando. Yet anyone who’s seen The Misfits knows that Marilyn Monroe absolutely could stand alongside the greatest performers of the 20th century.

After laying out my criticisms, I want to end on a positive note. The Seven Year Itch is, without a doubt, a good movie and quite an enjoyable comedy. I think this article might be useful for people like me who had their expectations too high — expecting one of the greatest comedies ever made — and ended up a bit disappointed. For those who haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it: it’s a genuinely good film, lighthearted and fun, but no one should expect another Some Like It Hot, because The Seven Year Itch simply isn’t that. Still, it’s a pleasant, entertaining comedy, and Marilyn’s sheer charm alone makes it worth watching.

As for Marilyn’s performance, I’ve said before that it isn’t one of her best, but that’s only because Marilyn Monroe was one of the greatest actresses in history — and arguably the greatest comedic actress of all time. If we keep that in perspective, her work here is very good: funny, expressive, and perfectly attuned to the tone of the character. It’s not at the level of The Misfits, Bus Stop, or Some Like It Hot, nor even Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but it’s still an excellent comedic performance. In fact, it’s truly a shame that Marilyn wasn’t nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy that year, because she clearly deserved it. Then again, the way awards like the Oscars and Golden Globes treated Marilyn could easily fill several articles — it was genuinely unfair.

In short, I completely recommend The Seven Year Itch. It’s a fun, charming comedy with plenty of lighthearted moments. It’s not one of the greatest comedies in film history, but it’s still well worth watching — especially for Marilyn Monroe, who lights up every single frame she’s in.