While awaiting the outcome of her husband's surgery, Julie Messinger discovers he has been having affairs.While awaiting the outcome of her husband's surgery, Julie Messinger discovers he has been having affairs.While awaiting the outcome of her husband's surgery, Julie Messinger discovers he has been having affairs.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
592
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Lois Gould(based on the novel by)
- Elaine May(screenplay)
- David Shaber(adaptation)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Lois Gould(based on the novel by)
- Elaine May(screenplay)
- David Shaber(adaptation)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Videos1
- Director
- Writers
- Lois Gould(based on the novel by)
- Elaine May(screenplay)
- David Shaber(adaptation)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Julie Messinger has it made. She is a New York housewife whose husband, Richard, is an editor for a prominent photography magazine. They have a small circle of friends, including well-meaning, but inept Dr. Timothy Spector, photographer Cal Whiting and Cal's live-in girlfriend Miranda. Julie's mother spends her days getting pedicures and manicures, applying make-up and fake eye-lashes and buying expensive clothes, all the while criticizing her daughter for her looks and behavior. When Richard goes into the hospital for a minor mole-removal surgery, Julie gets more than she bargained for. Richard suffers from complications and goes into a coma, supposedly caused by a rare surgical factor, and she gathers friends and family together, culminating in a hilarious "quasi-cocktail-party" scene in the blood donation center of the hospital. While dealing with red tape, hospital bureaucracy and clueless doctors, Julie discovers her husband's "little black book," which contains the names of her friends. She confirms that her husband had been sleeping around and proceeds to make a fool out of him by getting it on with his male friends. When the complications get more ominous, guilt opens the door to her liberation as a woman. A scathingly funny examination of the dirty rich partying while one of their number lies on the brink of death. —thustlebird
- Taglines
- How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...Miranda, Audrey, Jessica, Marcy, Doria...
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaThe original novel by Lois Gould was much more serious in tone; many of the barbed, humorous lines of the film are missing entirely from the book. Otto Preminger saw the satirical potential in such a premise and had it written as such.
- Quotes
Shakespeare Theatre in the Park: [talking to a musician for a Shakespeare production] The sitar is... it's interesting. But can you tell me what a sitar has to do with a play set in Denmark?
- Crazy creditsIn the film's opening, three red-colored "legs-crossed icons" (the trademark that Saul Bass created for the film, as seen on the poster) converge on a blank screen to form one whole icon. The title appears and then below the title, it reads "AN OTTO PREMINGER FILM". Cast and crew are credited in the closing, but nowhere else. Preminger was the only one credited in the opening.
- Alternate versionsSome versions cut the intimate scene between Ken Howard and Dyan Cannon, in which Howard's character takes a faux nude picture of Cannon.
- ConnectionsFeatures Adventures of Superman (1952)
Top review
Preminger's great satire
Otto Preminger's later films are an acquired taste. But this one, while completely outrageous, seems to be one of his better efforts.
Some of the more memorable scenes: Burgess Meredith walking around nude at a cocktail party (!); Ken Howard impotent while making love to Dyan Cannon; Cannon attempting to seduce obese James Coco who is wearing a girdle (!); and Cannon finding her husband's black book with notes about sex with other women.
Despite its unusualness, SUCH GOOD FRIENDS is an enjoyable picture to watch because it's something you don't have to take seriously. It is obviously a black comedy and the first few minutes establish the mood perfectly. It does become a bit of a maudlin soap opera where Cannon's character is figuring out her husband's infidelities and trying to decide if she still loves the guy or not. But the melodramatic aspects are definitely overshadowed by the satirical look at urban mores that Preminger presents.
Some of the more memorable scenes: Burgess Meredith walking around nude at a cocktail party (!); Ken Howard impotent while making love to Dyan Cannon; Cannon attempting to seduce obese James Coco who is wearing a girdle (!); and Cannon finding her husband's black book with notes about sex with other women.
Despite its unusualness, SUCH GOOD FRIENDS is an enjoyable picture to watch because it's something you don't have to take seriously. It is obviously a black comedy and the first few minutes establish the mood perfectly. It does become a bit of a maudlin soap opera where Cannon's character is figuring out her husband's infidelities and trying to decide if she still loves the guy or not. But the melodramatic aspects are definitely overshadowed by the satirical look at urban mores that Preminger presents.
helpful•51
- jarrodmcdonald-1
- Sep 26, 2014
Details
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- Also known as
- So gute Freunde
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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