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Over 21 is not a classic wartime comedy, but it does have the benefit of an expert trio of stars to give it a bit of brio. The creators have tampered somewhat with Ruth Gordon's play, but enough of the solid structure remains so that the basic story holds up, even if it starts to wear out its welcome a bit before the end. A late-in-the-game speech which uses a pie analogy to encourage an end to American isolationism is a bit jarring, but the speech itself is effective. Modern audiences, however, may find it and many other portions of the film somewhat dated and the mechanics of the piece a bit obvious in places. Fortunately, stars Irene Dunne, Alexander Knox, and Charles Coburn are on hand to smooth over the rough spots. Coburn could play grouchy and maintain his special charm and uses both qualities to very good advantage here. Knox handles his big speech with great skill and helps to hold together a number of scenes that would otherwise be rather bumpy. And Dunne is, as almost always, a sheer pleasure to be around. Her special magic is rather hard to define; one watches her entranced, but never quite sure of what she is doing to create that effect. Whatever it is, it works, and it's a prime reason that Over 21 works as well.