I said I had no family -- I didn’t say I had an empty apartment

Billy Wilder's The Apartment is to Melissa Mathison's A Boy's Life like a steak dinner is to a cheeseburger. It's far more enjoyable, manly, and tasty.

Where Boy’s Life had me sighing and flipping through to see much more saccharine, emotive, toying I had to deal with, The Apartment was a general pleasure to read. One, we have a story that caters better to twenty-year old instead of a twelve year old, and because Wilder is just a better writer.
I saw a lot of Weston’s emotional events residing rumbling beneath Buddy-boy’s (and other’s) dialogue, which Wilder’s flair helped bring out. I guess Wilder’s style read more like a novel, as the “personality” of the screenplay bled through the the scene setting, description etc, and I thought it strengthened the whole piece.

I enjoyed the dialogue...expect a few absolute cringers (see “ Sorry, Mr. Sheldrake -- I'm full up. You'll have to take the next elevator”, or “ that's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise”).
The line “I said I had no family -- I didn’t say I had an empty apartment” more than made up for any grimaces though, it’s so good it could be a tag line. So good it could be a blog entry title. Could.

I suppose I'm “okay” with the ending. I didn’t see it as abrupt, but I guess I could say it was an easy way out. It’s works, no doubt, but how much braver would it had been on Wilder’s part to leave Baxter continue to “get took”, while Fran seems to remain unaware why she can’t “ever fall in love with somebody nice” like Bud. Maybe a bit too existential. I guess the those two finally ending up together is a better pitch to producer to get the green light.

-W. Corlett

1.) Weston Review. Do you think The Apartment does a better job at playing with subtext and emotional events when A Boy's Life? Why is that?

2.) Wilder takes it easy on slug lines, and has more flowery descriptions. Is this helpful to the screenplay? Would a director get frustrated with any of the fluff?