User Reviews

Clearly this is one of those "how to behave" short films from the 1950, when it was fashionable to show teenagers the "proper" way to behave, ie. how to drive, how to dress. black and white, of course. picture quality is pretty good, but the sound is terrible. This one was part of the mystery science 3K collection. Haven't seen this one on Turner Classics. Stars Larry and Sue, as the dating couple who think they are ready to get married. Funny... in the credits, we see the actor listed for Larry, but NOT for Sue. hmmm.. kind of odd. They go talk to Mr. Hall for advice, played by Reuben Hill... .who happens to be the "consultant" on this film. is he a licensed psychiatrist, or just an interested party? no-one knows. skip this one... campy, but Boringgggggg.... Directed by Gil Altschul, who also directed "Why we respect the Law." SNOOZERS..

I love Sue, the not-too-bright, anal-retentive, popular-song-loving wanna-be bride at the center of this delightful doughnut of a short. She wants to marry her weird-faced boyfriend Larry, but their parents are shocked and disgusted (not unlike "Is This Love?"). So they visit the creepy Rev. Hall, who shows them various charts and graphs made out of glitter glue and string that tells Larry and Sue about their love, their potential for happiness, and their "Boin-n-n-n-g!" (Rev. Hall's word, not mine). It all confuses Sue: "But I don't want to marry a girl, like me! I want to marry a man, like Larry!"

Ask your doctor about this educational short today. Available through Something Weird video or Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode # 616: Racket Girls.

Ah, yet another short instructional film that doesn't stand up to the test of time. Back in the prehistoric 1950's, divorce was a big no-no. When you married someone, you were more or less stuck with that person for life. This short is a warning against rushing headlong into a marriage that may be sweet and nice in the beginning, but later on will make the lockhorns look good. These days, however, it's marry now - divorce later.

"Are You Ready for Marriage?" is enough to make anyone want to remain single. It portrays a pair of tensed-up teens going to some weirdo to ask whether or not they should tie the knot. This is the sort of movie that you can probably only find on "MST3K", as Mike, Servo and Crow had fun ripping it apart.

And the weird adviser? He looked like a cross between Dick Van Dyke and Fred Gwynne. In my opinion, Dick Van Dyke and Fred Gwynne had every right to sue the people behind this movie, just for making them look embarrassing.

In conclusion, the movie by itself is 0/10, but the "MST3K" version is 10/10.

Don't blame me for that phrase. I lifted it from the movie.

A college student and his high school gal want to get married, but her parents don't approve, and when they approach Reuben Hill, who is said to be able to get them married, he talks at length about the need for this that and the other thing. It's all very sensible, which is just the boring sort of thing that two young kids are not going to be interested in hearing. Of course, here they do, because this in a Coronet educational film, and so everyone is very reasonable, and all problems soluble at the first attempt.

For some reason, while all the other actors are identified, the woman playing "Sue" is not.

Sue and Larry kiss on her front porch and he asks her to marry him. He has two years of university and she's still finishing high school. Her parents do not approve. He wants to elope. They go to the local church for some advice from marriage counselor Mr. Hall. He has a "Cupid's Checklist".

It's a Coronet instructional film. I'm guessing that this doesn't want to pick a denomination, and made Mr. Hall non-specific. This is a battle between cringe-worthy and laughable. When Mr. Hall let go of the elastic band, I really laughed. The actors' reactions are hilariously bad. This is a lot of the old time marriage advice.

I liked it. Made a lot of sense. What more do I need to say?

Of all the shorts featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, this is my favorite. The riffs are clever and very funny and have me laughing every time.

That said, the short itself is not bad. The staging and direction are competent and the acting is better than one would expect from an educational short. Neither of the leads has the looks or charisma to be a movie star but both of them are good at line-reading and are quite believable as the young lovers. The filmmakers did not try to pass off 30-years-olds as teenagers. The other actors in the film are just as effective.

And although we can laugh at the way people looked, dressed, thought, and acted 70 years ago, we can also appreciate that "Cupid's Checklist," the various graphs, and even the "boing" help support the message that the short is trying to convey. Good advice is good advice no matter how it is presented and from whatever year it is given.

Two slightly dim-witted college kids who want to get married, but have been rebuffed by their parents, seek advice from a marriage counselor named Mr. Hall (Reuben Hill?). Mr. Hall advises them to take time to get to know each other, using a variety of silly props and a host of pseudo-scientific graphs ("Chance for Happiness" vs. "Length of Engagement", "Overall Grooviness of Feelings" vs. "Shoe Size", etc.). These graphs are typical of the type used by social scientists to make their mushy, goopy theories seem like hard science.

This short is a likably goofy example of the kind of instructional films made during the early '50's for classroom use. Mr. Hall really does, by the way, use the word "BOINNGG!!" to describe the physical attraction felt by young men and women for each other. Hmmmm...

love Coronet guidance films. They're the furthest away from any psychological truth and behavior. Take, for example "Are You Ready For Marriage?" A hilariously overdrawn yarn about 2 kids who want to tie the knot, and go to their Church's family counselor for guidance. The counselor shows them this device, something about psychological distance, that I still can't understand after watching it twice. The counselor then starts explaining how attraction starts, by using this word. "Boing". No explanation on what it means, but I think we all KNOW what it means... Soon, he says that the relationship grows thin, just like the elastic.. "And soon.." He let's go of the elastic. The two kids yell "It's Gone!" "Where did it Go?" Just like their relationship, lol. The acting in this never rises above sub-standard. with special note going to the female actress who plays the part as BORINGLY as possible.

Larry and Sue, two very old JC students love each other and want to get married. Mom and dad don't approve, what to do? See the Nazi love doctor Professor Hill. His large face and glitter graphs made by his six year old daughter show that Larry and Sue are not ready for marriage because they only common interest is popular songs (these popular songs are not known at this time, your author here is doing research on this subject and will get back to everyone here once I know what popular songs they are referring to) Dr. Hill's solution is to educate these young people with the cheap graphs and hope Larry and Sue take in what Dr. Hill has recommended. Larry and Sue discuss this at the soda shop, the breakwater and at home while doing dishes. Larry's dad reads a book on the Karma Sutra and give Larry and Sue some helpful hints (drinking and porno) In the end Larry and Sue get engaged to be engaged and live out their lives in happy bliss until the popular songs become unpopular and Larry and Sue break up. THE END!!