Although made in the sixties, you could easily mistake this for one of those lovely warm and cosy comedies of the 1930s. Blink and you could see Joan Blondell or Ginger Rogers in that exact role Jane Fonda plays so perfectly here. Her character, the bubbly, feisty excitement-seeking wife of a fuddy duddy was done hundreds of times in countless films in the 30s. And just like in those 1930s movies, we've even got the obligatory sexy girl in her underwear scene! What makes this stand out from the crowd is the complete and utter likeability of its cast.
The massively popular play which this film was based on had been running for four years when this was filmed. You get a feeling that on stage this would have been brilliant and some of that sparkle has been lost a little on its transition from stage to screen. In compensation you do get a lot of scenes in the streets in the park and on the river which add to the nineteen sixtiesness of this. The film is virtually lifted scene by scene from what would have been seen on stage which is usually a recipe for disaster but not here. Unlike some of those atrocious very early 30s and late 20s pictures where they seemed to just stick a camera in front of a stage and hope for the best, this looks great. But like a play, everything mainly happens in one set - the small apartment but that apartment room eventually becomes as familiar to you as to the room you're actually in now - it feels like home! It virtually becomes a character itself. The inclusion of quite a few exterior shots of a very cold looking 1960s New York adds a sense of reality to this and genuinely when everyone is outside you do actually feel cold whereas when they're all back inside...back in what eventually seems like YOUR home..... you are warm and comfortable again.
The humour is witty and amusing rather than hilarious. The story is unoriginal and clichéd and the plot is non-existent but it is still hugely enjoyable. The reason for that is the same as it was in the 30s equivalents when Joan Blondell or Jessie Matthews would be trying to figure out how to make their relationship with some fuddy duddy banker like Warren William work. It's having nice people whom you can relate to. This film must have one of the nicest most likeable bunch of people ever: Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Charles Boyer and Mildred Natwick are all just so great! And that's really all that this film is about. OK, it's also proving the old 'opposites attract' aphorism, it's a witty and entertaining comedy but if that were all this was it would be a bit lame. This makes you feel for an hour and a half that these charming, attractive and slightly eccentric people might be friends of yours.
The massively popular play which this film was based on had been running for four years when this was filmed. You get a feeling that on stage this would have been brilliant and some of that sparkle has been lost a little on its transition from stage to screen. In compensation you do get a lot of scenes in the streets in the park and on the river which add to the nineteen sixtiesness of this. The film is virtually lifted scene by scene from what would have been seen on stage which is usually a recipe for disaster but not here. Unlike some of those atrocious very early 30s and late 20s pictures where they seemed to just stick a camera in front of a stage and hope for the best, this looks great. But like a play, everything mainly happens in one set - the small apartment but that apartment room eventually becomes as familiar to you as to the room you're actually in now - it feels like home! It virtually becomes a character itself. The inclusion of quite a few exterior shots of a very cold looking 1960s New York adds a sense of reality to this and genuinely when everyone is outside you do actually feel cold whereas when they're all back inside...back in what eventually seems like YOUR home..... you are warm and comfortable again.
The humour is witty and amusing rather than hilarious. The story is unoriginal and clichéd and the plot is non-existent but it is still hugely enjoyable. The reason for that is the same as it was in the 30s equivalents when Joan Blondell or Jessie Matthews would be trying to figure out how to make their relationship with some fuddy duddy banker like Warren William work. It's having nice people whom you can relate to. This film must have one of the nicest most likeable bunch of people ever: Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Charles Boyer and Mildred Natwick are all just so great! And that's really all that this film is about. OK, it's also proving the old 'opposites attract' aphorism, it's a witty and entertaining comedy but if that were all this was it would be a bit lame. This makes you feel for an hour and a half that these charming, attractive and slightly eccentric people might be friends of yours.