Plot: A man and his wife (Frank Sinatra and Deborah Kerr)accidentally divorce,and his wife accidentally marries his best friend,a confirmed life-long bachelor. (Dean Martin) Hilarity Ensues.(supposedly)
This movie is 45 yrs old, and boy has it not aged well. While it LOOKS handsome on a modern TV, with elegant set design and wonderful costumes (examples:Dean Martin's stylish bachelor pad, & Deborah Kerr's gorgeous emerald cape/dress ensemble) the plot and social values in the film are creakier than Gilligan's boat.
However,as my sister and I discovered, it is vastly improved with the addition of alcohol. A hilarious drinking game can be played by imbibing each time a character spouts a value that simply would NOT fly in a modern movie.Just a few examples:
Frank Sinatra:"I believe a girl should stay at home until she's married."
Or
Deborah Kerr:"What a beautiful (Polar Bear!) rug. " Dean Martin: "It's real fur."
DK: "I would expect as much from a big game hunter like you."
Or
Young Woman: "I can't swim." DM: "Helpless,eh? All the better."
Or
Young Woman:" Do you want children?" Dean Martin: (holds her hand and leers suggestively) "Try me."
Or
Frank Sinatra(in bed with his wife of 19 yrs,who is making the moves on him and wearing a glamorous negligee on their anniversary): "TV's off,you don't want to talk,what else is there to do in bed?" ('cos you know,people over 40 don't have a sex life)
Or
Dean Martin: "It's easy to tell a woman you're not going to marry her. I've done it dozens of times!"
And so on.
Of course these quotes may be slightly incorrect. By the end of the movie,I had played the game so many times,my faculties were more than a little impaired.
I know it's largely unfair to judge the movies of old by the standards of today, but sometimes their promotion of old world values is so leaden and infuriating, it's hard not to be both amused & enraged while watching them. And unfortunately,there is simply not enough wit or style in the script or performances to make one forgive the cringe-worthy elements that haven't aged well.
Deborah Kerr is the one bright spark in this uninspiring debacle. She acquits herself well despite the thin material,with a comic finesse that does more with the lacklustre script than it deserves. Frank and Dean pretty much dial in performances of the "ain't broads exasperating" variety.(A shame,as Frank demonstrated in 'The Man With the Golden Arm' he was an actor of range and subtlety).Hermoine Baddeley, so funny in 'Maude'' can do little with the battle-axe mother-in-law stereotype she's been handed.This film is a good reminder that 'the good old days' were not always so good. While the 1960s produced a plethora of 'sex comedy' films that while dated,still sparkle with panache and charm, this is not one of them.
This movie is 45 yrs old, and boy has it not aged well. While it LOOKS handsome on a modern TV, with elegant set design and wonderful costumes (examples:Dean Martin's stylish bachelor pad, & Deborah Kerr's gorgeous emerald cape/dress ensemble) the plot and social values in the film are creakier than Gilligan's boat.
However,as my sister and I discovered, it is vastly improved with the addition of alcohol. A hilarious drinking game can be played by imbibing each time a character spouts a value that simply would NOT fly in a modern movie.Just a few examples:
Frank Sinatra:"I believe a girl should stay at home until she's married."
Or
Deborah Kerr:"What a beautiful (Polar Bear!) rug. " Dean Martin: "It's real fur."
DK: "I would expect as much from a big game hunter like you."
Or
Young Woman: "I can't swim." DM: "Helpless,eh? All the better."
Or
Young Woman:" Do you want children?" Dean Martin: (holds her hand and leers suggestively) "Try me."
Or
Frank Sinatra(in bed with his wife of 19 yrs,who is making the moves on him and wearing a glamorous negligee on their anniversary): "TV's off,you don't want to talk,what else is there to do in bed?" ('cos you know,people over 40 don't have a sex life)
Or
Dean Martin: "It's easy to tell a woman you're not going to marry her. I've done it dozens of times!"
And so on.
Of course these quotes may be slightly incorrect. By the end of the movie,I had played the game so many times,my faculties were more than a little impaired.
I know it's largely unfair to judge the movies of old by the standards of today, but sometimes their promotion of old world values is so leaden and infuriating, it's hard not to be both amused & enraged while watching them. And unfortunately,there is simply not enough wit or style in the script or performances to make one forgive the cringe-worthy elements that haven't aged well.
Deborah Kerr is the one bright spark in this uninspiring debacle. She acquits herself well despite the thin material,with a comic finesse that does more with the lacklustre script than it deserves. Frank and Dean pretty much dial in performances of the "ain't broads exasperating" variety.(A shame,as Frank demonstrated in 'The Man With the Golden Arm' he was an actor of range and subtlety).Hermoine Baddeley, so funny in 'Maude'' can do little with the battle-axe mother-in-law stereotype she's been handed.This film is a good reminder that 'the good old days' were not always so good. While the 1960s produced a plethora of 'sex comedy' films that while dated,still sparkle with panache and charm, this is not one of them.