As the 1960's moved to the end of the decade, these films already showed signs of age, of being out of touch with the turbulent times.......along with the equally aging stars who regularly performed in them......
.
Tony Curtis still poured on the boyish charm, even though you can see he's no boy anymore. And at two exhausting, tedious hours, his charm's one of the few things this movie has going for it......
The only other reason to endure this: the way, way out there casting of the ever intense George C. Scott as Curtis's rival for the Italian bombshell Virna Lisi.
The oddness of Scott's casting didn't come from seeing one of filmdom's most powerful dramatic actors cavorting in an inconsequential, Technicolored assembly line farce.......(similar to Marlon Brando popping up in 1964's 'Bedtime Story').
After all, Scott already proved himself a more than capable farceur in "Dr. Strangelove" and later in '67, he'd caper and clown around in 'The Flim Flam Man'......
But those two mentioned comedies, each in their own way, served as unique showcases for Scott's comedy chops. 'Not With My Wife You Don't!' however, seems like a colossal waste of his time and talent. It's like watching Sir Laurence Olivier show up in a Doris Day movie........
The major problem here is the movie stays monumentally unfunny in both its premise and its execution. Obnoxious characters behave badly, but you'll find no joy in it. And you won't hear a genuinely funny line in the entire 2 hours, just desperate attempts at sarcasm.
Curtis and Scott play buddy-buddy Korean war jet pilots. When not shooting down MIGs, they're relentless skirt chasers and determined rivals for whatever woman they've both set their sights on. They'll try any elaborate ruse or practical joke to one up each other during their horny hunting seasons.
Into Curtis's life comes the hubba-hubba, hot tempered nurse Julietta (Lisi) whom Curtis desperately tries to keep out of Scott's lascivious clutches. But once Scott casts a lusty eye on her, the game's afoot and boys' neverending bag-the-babe contest is on......
When Scott's jet is shot down, Curtis takes that opportunity to woo and marry Lisi, keeping the news of Scott's survival and rescue away from her.
Naturally Scott return to the sexual fray and regardless of his pal's marital status, launches an all out campaign to win Lisi for himself.......
The humor in all this supposedly emanates from the two guys' increasingly hysteria-fueled attempts to lay claim on Lisi. Trust us on this......none it's the slightest bit funny. Ever.
There's a small amount of pleasure in watching George C. Scott fully ham it up through all the laborious proceedings, but we can't honestly say it makes the film worth watching.......except to hardcore enthusiasts of 1960's films like ourselves. So judge accordingly......
For us, we'll pop it back into the 60's time capsule and most likely won't waste any more precious time with it again........1 star (*). Virna Lisa does look swell, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment