Here's a great trivia question for your next trivial pursuit movie. What future mega star got to punch Jack Lemmon in the nose just because his car was bumped by a woman driver? The answer can be easily found by looking at the cast of this strange movie version of a forgotten Broadway play. That scene, however, is the style of humor used in this swingin' 60's farce that only got occasional laughs from me because I didn't know quite else to do than try to throw a brick through my plastic T.V. screen. Yes, this is embarrassingly bad, a misguided attempt to make timely (by 60's standards) comments on the subject of love, sex and matrimony, none of which really go together according to this film.
Certainly, any film with as many New York City locations as this isn't going to be totally horrid. The Brooklyn Bridge is the opening setting for the scene where suicidal Lemmon is reunited with old college pal Peter Falk whose job it seems to be to invade the garbage cans of the city then sell the items from his basement. Totally ignoring the about to jump Lemmon, Falk grabs a lamp shade and is about to take off when he suddenly recognizes Lemmon. Bringing him over for dinner, he deals with a sexually frustrated wife (Elaine May) who is a bit wacky and ends up divorcing Falk to marry Lemmon. It's a trip to Coney Island followed by a honeymoon in Niagra Falls where their "luv" is really tested. In the meantime, Falk marries his dumber than a box of grapenuts mistress, Nina Wayne, testing how "luv and sex" don't always mix.
Falk is a truly funny man, but with Lemmon having just come off his first successful pairing with Walter Matthau, you might find yourself longing for him over Falk. Elaine May manages to get laughs simply by sweeping her kitchen floor or snipping Lemmon's suspenders, causing his pants to come down right over the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. This is another one of those automatically dated mod comedies that cry for the music from Laugh In and the Loving Spoonful. The shot of Manhattan from the Brooklyn bridge also seems to be backwards with the Empire State Building and the rest of midtown facing where the financial district should be. Practically a complete miss, it should be seen once to indicate how a comedy should not be. With the team of Lemmon and Falk failing so miserably and the participation of writer Elaine May as the only bright spot, I have to refer to this comedy as the "Ishtar" of the 1960's.
Certainly, any film with as many New York City locations as this isn't going to be totally horrid. The Brooklyn Bridge is the opening setting for the scene where suicidal Lemmon is reunited with old college pal Peter Falk whose job it seems to be to invade the garbage cans of the city then sell the items from his basement. Totally ignoring the about to jump Lemmon, Falk grabs a lamp shade and is about to take off when he suddenly recognizes Lemmon. Bringing him over for dinner, he deals with a sexually frustrated wife (Elaine May) who is a bit wacky and ends up divorcing Falk to marry Lemmon. It's a trip to Coney Island followed by a honeymoon in Niagra Falls where their "luv" is really tested. In the meantime, Falk marries his dumber than a box of grapenuts mistress, Nina Wayne, testing how "luv and sex" don't always mix.
Falk is a truly funny man, but with Lemmon having just come off his first successful pairing with Walter Matthau, you might find yourself longing for him over Falk. Elaine May manages to get laughs simply by sweeping her kitchen floor or snipping Lemmon's suspenders, causing his pants to come down right over the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. This is another one of those automatically dated mod comedies that cry for the music from Laugh In and the Loving Spoonful. The shot of Manhattan from the Brooklyn bridge also seems to be backwards with the Empire State Building and the rest of midtown facing where the financial district should be. Practically a complete miss, it should be seen once to indicate how a comedy should not be. With the team of Lemmon and Falk failing so miserably and the participation of writer Elaine May as the only bright spot, I have to refer to this comedy as the "Ishtar" of the 1960's.