Bob Weston (Tony Curtis) is the womanizing managing editor for the trashy magazine STOP. He's the best of the worst as the critically derided magazine soars in popularity. One of his prime targets is Helen Gurley Brown (Natalie Wood)'s new book and he ridicules her as a 23 year old virgin. Her patients are cancelling. Bob's neighbor Frank Broderick (Henry Fonda) is fighting with his wife Sylvia (Lauren Bacall). With their marriage in crisis, Bob has a crazy idea to kill two birds with one stone. He pretends to be Bob taking Helen as his psychiatrist.
This was a hit for its time. As a modern movie, it struggles to be more than a weak sitcom. It may be an edgy rom-com at the forefront of sexual liberation at the time. That is all meaningless today. It does not make the movie good. More importantly, it does not make the movie fun. Frank and Sylvia are a miserable couple. They don't have any chemistry until much later in the movie. There is nothing to root for between Bob and Helen. There is nothing to like about him. In fact, she has no fitting partner. There is some screwball but I don't find the characters funny. Thereby I don't find the joking funny either. This is definitely a rom-com for its time. It's past its time and this is no longer the hilarious hit that it once was.
This was a hit for its time. As a modern movie, it struggles to be more than a weak sitcom. It may be an edgy rom-com at the forefront of sexual liberation at the time. That is all meaningless today. It does not make the movie good. More importantly, it does not make the movie fun. Frank and Sylvia are a miserable couple. They don't have any chemistry until much later in the movie. There is nothing to root for between Bob and Helen. There is nothing to like about him. In fact, she has no fitting partner. There is some screwball but I don't find the characters funny. Thereby I don't find the joking funny either. This is definitely a rom-com for its time. It's past its time and this is no longer the hilarious hit that it once was.