The April Fools (1969)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writer:

Hal Dresner (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

He has a wife. She has a husband. With so much in common they just have to fall in love.

Plot:

Newly-promoted if none too happily married Howard Brubaker leaves a rowdy Company party early with the stunning Catherine...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Howard Brubaker
Catherine Deneuve	...	Catherine Gunther
Peter Lawford	...	Ted Gunther
Jack Weston	...	Potter Shrader
Myrna Loy	...	Grace Greenlaw
Charles Boyer	...	Andre Greenlaw
Kenneth Mars	...	Les Hopkins
Melinda Dillon	...	Leslie Hopkins
Harvey Korman	...	Matt Benson
Sally Kellerman	...	Phyllis Brubaker
Gary Dubin	...	Stanley Brubaker
Janice Carroll	...	Mimsy Shrader
Dee Gardner	...	Naomi Jackson
David Doyle	...	Orlow P. Walters
Susan Barrett	...	Singer

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Jalem Productions

Soundtrack:

I Say a Little Prayer

One of my Favorites

I have always loved this movie, and, in many ways, relate to the Howard Brubaker character. Is it a great movie? Absolutely not. But it is romantic, humorous, and touching in many ways. This was my first glimpse of Catherine Deneuve outside of a pilfered Playboy, and she was nearly enough to make me forget Diana Rigg. I have always thought that Jack Lemmon was great, and being an old movie buff, I was very happy to see Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer.

In many ways this film can be considered silly. Boyer's chasing of Lemmon, the total detachment of Sally Kellerman's character, the locker room style boasting of Brubaker's friends, and finally the hasty courtship and decision to flee made by Lemmon and Deneuve. But, somehow it works. The touching love of Boyer and Loy is the perfect counterpoint to the blossoming relationship of Lemmon and Deneuve. And the similar ways in which Catherine and Howard are objectified by their respective spouses (Brubaker's wife considers him a source of funding for her projects while Guenther thinks of his wife as his greatest acquisition) insures fertile ground for anything resembling true warmth and emotion.

Don't think of this as some throwaway romantic comedy. Think of this, instead, as an Everyman's Romantic Fantasy. In reality we think not only of sex at the drop of a hat (not present in this movie), but also of meeting a beautiful woman who immediately recognizes the real man within and is willing to drop all for the love of that man.

I love this movie.

I remember Rex Reed saying that this was a horrible mess and that Catherine Deneuve should never make anything without English subtitles. Well, Deneuve has gone on to become one of the world's respected actresses in any language, and Reed's greatest claim to fame was appearing in Myra Breckinridge.

Don't be afraid to give this movie a chance.