★ 4 / 10
Jack Lemmon, I thought. Yeah, he's good, I'le
Mark B
Jack Lemmon, I thought. Yeah, he's good, I'le give this one a go. So, for the first hour or so (make that the first hour) this movie did what it said on the…
Jack Lemmon, I thought. Yeah, he's good, I'le give this one a go.
So, for the first hour or so (make that the first hour) this movie did what it said on the tin. And Edward G Robinson nicely cast too, as the eccentric, bible bashing, chairman of a successful milk production company who wanted a nice 'normal agency employee' to come up with some 'nice, successful adverts.' It all began so well.
But then it all started to unravel.
The silly Romy Schneider (born in Austria who didn't go and live in France until aged 24- so what's with the fake French accent, Romy?) bursts onto the scene, like a spoilt child at someone else's birthday party and the unlikeliest of friends of Lemmon's stay-at-home-but-oh-so-attractive-wife, Dorothy Provine. Schneider demands to be the centre of attention now, turning everything upside down and creating mayhem as a distracting sidebar who ends up 'stealing' Dorothy's husband so that she will inherit 15 million dollars. But none of the film makes sense anymore as it lurches from one sub plot to the other, in comic-book fashion. Schneider's real husband then turns up- even though they are divorced but by local law, they are still technically married. So why keep up the charade that Lemmon is Schneider's husband? Do you follow? Exactly! All that happens is a multitude of characters, all then running around screaming, plotting, telling lies and telling more lies.....all in aid of trying to get the jackpot payout for Schneider. It would have been much better if the film had simply developed Lemmon working for the ad agency and getting his big break with the Nurdling contract and seeing a lot more of the brilliant Edward G Robinson.
Instead, we get a silly, childish farce of a movie with Lemmon metamorphosizing into a treble cross between Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis and Norman Widsom, It was no wonder Lemmon said that this was one of his least favourite of movies.
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★ 6 / 10
Hilarious all the way through. Yes, I recommend
R T
Hilarious all the way through. Yes, I recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas June 11, 2023.
Hilarious all the way through. Yes, I recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas June 11, 2023.
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So many beautiful cars in this movie!