And Elaine Stritch, too!
Yep, the Grumpy Old Gams of Broadway (who would show them off just a few years later wearing a men's white shirt and a pair of black tights in her Broadway one woman show) plays a featured role in this Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau comedy. Having been through fortune cookies and odd couples, these buddy buddies were the geriatric version of Hope and Crosby, and their road to the fountain of youth always hit a dead end. But the audience always had a good time with the majority of their teamings where even if the story was a stinker, their chemistry was undeniable. In this one, they are working aboard a cruise ship as rather clumsy dance hosts, and along side Stritch, are joined by veterans of stage, screen and TV dating back to the 1930's.
Who says that Hollywood doesn't cater to older actors still wanting to work and give them nice juicy parts? There's the endlessly young Dyan Cannon (as Stritch's daughter), the sweet Gloria DeHaven, the flirty Estelle Harris, the uppity Brent Spiner, the dashing Hal Linden and the toe-tapping Donald O'Connor. You get to know everything you need to know by Spiner's pretentious introduction offstage on microphone of himself, and he's one of those snooty phony charmers who is easy to love to hate from the moment you see him. Then there's "Golden Girl" Rue McClahahan as the ship's owner, a vibrant widow a la Blanche Devereaux, getting the perfect opportunity to take down Spiner at the perfect time.
"I need a crap and a nap, and I don't need an audience!", Stritch declares in her first scene, while Harris coos, "Do I need a number, or do I serve myself?" before breaking into a Helen Kane/Mae Questel Betty Boob voiced song. Romance develops between the lively Cannon and the gambling addicted Matthau, as well as sensitive widow DeHaven and the reluctant dance host Lemmon, basically fooled by Matthau into joining him on the cruise. It turns out that Cannon and her mother are con-artists, and this gets Lemmon and Matthau into all sorts of trouble.
Each of these stars gets an opportunity to steal a scene or two with Stritch and O'Connor's sudden dance a gem of classic comedy, and the sadness within DeHaven quite poignant. It's perhaps not the strongest of comic plotlines, but there are plenty of amusing moments to entertain lovers of comedy of all ages.
Yep, the Grumpy Old Gams of Broadway (who would show them off just a few years later wearing a men's white shirt and a pair of black tights in her Broadway one woman show) plays a featured role in this Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau comedy. Having been through fortune cookies and odd couples, these buddy buddies were the geriatric version of Hope and Crosby, and their road to the fountain of youth always hit a dead end. But the audience always had a good time with the majority of their teamings where even if the story was a stinker, their chemistry was undeniable. In this one, they are working aboard a cruise ship as rather clumsy dance hosts, and along side Stritch, are joined by veterans of stage, screen and TV dating back to the 1930's.
Who says that Hollywood doesn't cater to older actors still wanting to work and give them nice juicy parts? There's the endlessly young Dyan Cannon (as Stritch's daughter), the sweet Gloria DeHaven, the flirty Estelle Harris, the uppity Brent Spiner, the dashing Hal Linden and the toe-tapping Donald O'Connor. You get to know everything you need to know by Spiner's pretentious introduction offstage on microphone of himself, and he's one of those snooty phony charmers who is easy to love to hate from the moment you see him. Then there's "Golden Girl" Rue McClahahan as the ship's owner, a vibrant widow a la Blanche Devereaux, getting the perfect opportunity to take down Spiner at the perfect time.
"I need a crap and a nap, and I don't need an audience!", Stritch declares in her first scene, while Harris coos, "Do I need a number, or do I serve myself?" before breaking into a Helen Kane/Mae Questel Betty Boob voiced song. Romance develops between the lively Cannon and the gambling addicted Matthau, as well as sensitive widow DeHaven and the reluctant dance host Lemmon, basically fooled by Matthau into joining him on the cruise. It turns out that Cannon and her mother are con-artists, and this gets Lemmon and Matthau into all sorts of trouble.
Each of these stars gets an opportunity to steal a scene or two with Stritch and O'Connor's sudden dance a gem of classic comedy, and the sadness within DeHaven quite poignant. It's perhaps not the strongest of comic plotlines, but there are plenty of amusing moments to entertain lovers of comedy of all ages.