I must say right now I am not a fan of Doris Day, neither of Rock Hudson, and that the only reason I got to watch their three pairings is called Tony Randall. As the overeager, neurotic sidekick, he's just as good as a younger Felix Ungar - and he's got the best lines. Still, the background is not without charm, and while Send Me No Flowers left me totally cold, I found myself thinking this one was pretty cute stuff.
The story is terribly similar to Pillow Talk, and reminiscent of Meg Ryan's 90s comedies : a successful working girl with a pretty face, a big mouth and a virginal past gets seduced by her worst enemy, whom she has never seen before, when he pretends to be even more inexperienced than herself- in fact, he's a casual womanizer. Somehow the two fall in love in the process. But here, script is sharper, rhythm quicker and scenes shorter: all in all, a kind of condensed formula with, backing the romantic plot, a silly yet amusing story of commercials for pills that don't exist, but everyone wants them anyway, and it's up to Jack Kruschen, the kind neighbor of The Apartment, to perform the task of creating the stuff.
It's New York in the late 50s, so there's a general feeling of happy days around: characters are sophisticated advertisement people with large flats, secretaries, shrinks (for Tony), masseuses (for Rock) and ridiculous hats (for Doris). They drive fancy cars, hunt mooses in Canadian rivers and at night, take a glance at the strip club. So, everyone's out to have a good time, including the viewer, who would not find such a pleasant, yet polished portrayal of city life in the comedies of today.
Dialogues are a reflect of this mood, between racy and terribly innocent. Innuendos, misunderstandings and blushed cheeks make the game. Some lines are truly funny, such as Tony Randall complaints about his dictatorial father: "Just once I spoke back to . He gave me me such a whipping in front of the girl...I was 25 and she was my fiancé". or the compassionate reaction of a middle-aged lady, to the no-longer virgin Doris : "It's like olives, dear. It's something you acquire a taste for". Too bad the ending gets a bit ridiculous, with a second wedding in front of the maternity ward. Close, huh?
Actors, all in all, are sweet people: I said I'm not usually much impressed by Hudson, but here with a beard, sad eyes and a weird green coat, he looked kinda disarming, as well as casually funny. Still, Doris Day was a bit too old to play such a naive girl: the blame must certainly be put on the script, but her character never seemed anything but annoyed or sarcastic, and in the end she get really annoying. She has sweet close-ups though. As for Randall, he's just a sweetheart with a good deal of psychological problems. And to see him hanging around big, menacing Hudson is always enjoyable. I'll keep it in mind for the rainy days.
The story is terribly similar to Pillow Talk, and reminiscent of Meg Ryan's 90s comedies : a successful working girl with a pretty face, a big mouth and a virginal past gets seduced by her worst enemy, whom she has never seen before, when he pretends to be even more inexperienced than herself- in fact, he's a casual womanizer. Somehow the two fall in love in the process. But here, script is sharper, rhythm quicker and scenes shorter: all in all, a kind of condensed formula with, backing the romantic plot, a silly yet amusing story of commercials for pills that don't exist, but everyone wants them anyway, and it's up to Jack Kruschen, the kind neighbor of The Apartment, to perform the task of creating the stuff.
It's New York in the late 50s, so there's a general feeling of happy days around: characters are sophisticated advertisement people with large flats, secretaries, shrinks (for Tony), masseuses (for Rock) and ridiculous hats (for Doris). They drive fancy cars, hunt mooses in Canadian rivers and at night, take a glance at the strip club. So, everyone's out to have a good time, including the viewer, who would not find such a pleasant, yet polished portrayal of city life in the comedies of today.
Dialogues are a reflect of this mood, between racy and terribly innocent. Innuendos, misunderstandings and blushed cheeks make the game. Some lines are truly funny, such as Tony Randall complaints about his dictatorial father: "Just once I spoke back to . He gave me me such a whipping in front of the girl...I was 25 and she was my fiancé". or the compassionate reaction of a middle-aged lady, to the no-longer virgin Doris : "It's like olives, dear. It's something you acquire a taste for". Too bad the ending gets a bit ridiculous, with a second wedding in front of the maternity ward. Close, huh?
Actors, all in all, are sweet people: I said I'm not usually much impressed by Hudson, but here with a beard, sad eyes and a weird green coat, he looked kinda disarming, as well as casually funny. Still, Doris Day was a bit too old to play such a naive girl: the blame must certainly be put on the script, but her character never seemed anything but annoyed or sarcastic, and in the end she get really annoying. She has sweet close-ups though. As for Randall, he's just a sweetheart with a good deal of psychological problems. And to see him hanging around big, menacing Hudson is always enjoyable. I'll keep it in mind for the rainy days.