This film begins with a shy young man by the name of "Fred McCarren" (Donald Becker) flying all the way from Nebraska to move in with his good friend "Robby Harrington" (Desi Arnaz Jr.) who lives in New York City. Although he hasn't seen his friend in a long time, Fred is amazed at how successful he is in dating attractive women. Naturally, being somewhat clumsy when it comes to the dating scene, Fred finally gets around to asking Robby for some advice which yields immediate results. Unfortunately, the woman he chooses also happens to be dating his boss--who fires him after finding out. So, with a little encouragement from an attractive neighbor named "Sally Claybrook" (Bess Armstrong), Fred decides to write a book detailing his methods for picking up women. What he isn't prepared for, however, is the rejection he receives from all of the major publishers in the city. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I vaguely remembered watching this movie when it first came out on television and, having now seen it more recently, I can honestly say that it was neither better nor worse than I remember it to be. I say this because, although this film is billed as a comedy, there really wasn't that much humor here at all. It does, however, have some decent acting with both Donald Becker and Bess Armstrong performing quite well together. That being said, while I certainly don't think this was a great movie by any means, it passed the time will enough and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
Review of How to Pick Up Girls!
How to Pick Up Girls!
(1978 TV Movie)
An Average Made-for-Television Movie from Days Gone By
26 May 2023