Love that opening where spunky wife Leila prepares in detail dull husband Andy for his vacation. As she packs for him, we know right away how utterly staid and predictable he is, while she's a lively whirlwind more like an attentive mother than a wife. But once on the vacation train and sitting alone, Andy thinks over his being in a rut; maybe he can break out if he can find the nerve. And then, as if summoned out of the blue, an aggressively sexy Kathi sidles up to him in the club car, and Andy's put to the test.
What the entry does have is some suspense as we wonder if Kathi can possibly be sincere given Andy's blandness. But then if she's not, what's her game. It's a good suspenseful concept that unfortunately plays out in conventionally contrived 1950's fashion. Reviewer Hafer's right: all in all, the parts don't really fit. Plus there's Niven's uncharacteristic eye-rolling as though he's still searching for the character; then too, why all the big words that are dropped in haphazardly, and what about the loose boy on the train that seems to have no point (maybe I missed something). Anyway, the premise is a good one, but the script needs both a re-write and may be a better director.
What the entry does have is some suspense as we wonder if Kathi can possibly be sincere given Andy's blandness. But then if she's not, what's her game. It's a good suspenseful concept that unfortunately plays out in conventionally contrived 1950's fashion. Reviewer Hafer's right: all in all, the parts don't really fit. Plus there's Niven's uncharacteristic eye-rolling as though he's still searching for the character; then too, why all the big words that are dropped in haphazardly, and what about the loose boy on the train that seems to have no point (maybe I missed something). Anyway, the premise is a good one, but the script needs both a re-write and may be a better director.