Two New Yorkers (Rock Hudson, Doris Day) sharing a party line find themselves annoyed with one another. He's a womanizer who monopolizes the phone to talk with his many girlfriends. She's a fuddy duddy who doesn't think much of his lifestyle. Eventually he sees her and realizes what a looker she is, so he pretends to be someone else to date her.
I'm a big classic movie fan but there's something about this period (late '50s through the early '60s) that just leaves me cold. I can count on one hand the number of films from this period that I genuinely love. This is not one of them. I did enjoy this and I think it's good and daring for its time, but it just didn't connect with me like it obviously has so many others over the years. For one thing, I have never really cared much for Doris Day. Nice singing voice, pretty enough, but there's something so staid and sober about her that I find it hard to become invested in her characters in these types of movies. I recognize mine is a minority opinion among classic film fans. I know others like her but she just doesn't do it for me and I find her much-touted chemistry with Rock Hudson to be overstated.
Anyway, this is considered by many to be their best movie and I can see why. It moves along at a nice pace and the comedy is somewhat risqué for the time. The fashions and sets will appeal to those who are fans of the period. Hudson is having a blast and it shows. I already gave my opinion on Day but, if you're a fan, you'll undoubtedly enjoy her here. Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter steal the show in supporting roles. The recurring bit with the obstetrician who thinks Rock is pregnant is probably the funniest part of the movie. The screenplay won an Oscar (!) and Doris Day was nominated for one (!!). How either of those things came about from this I will never know. Must have been a slow year.
I'm a big classic movie fan but there's something about this period (late '50s through the early '60s) that just leaves me cold. I can count on one hand the number of films from this period that I genuinely love. This is not one of them. I did enjoy this and I think it's good and daring for its time, but it just didn't connect with me like it obviously has so many others over the years. For one thing, I have never really cared much for Doris Day. Nice singing voice, pretty enough, but there's something so staid and sober about her that I find it hard to become invested in her characters in these types of movies. I recognize mine is a minority opinion among classic film fans. I know others like her but she just doesn't do it for me and I find her much-touted chemistry with Rock Hudson to be overstated.
Anyway, this is considered by many to be their best movie and I can see why. It moves along at a nice pace and the comedy is somewhat risqué for the time. The fashions and sets will appeal to those who are fans of the period. Hudson is having a blast and it shows. I already gave my opinion on Day but, if you're a fan, you'll undoubtedly enjoy her here. Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter steal the show in supporting roles. The recurring bit with the obstetrician who thinks Rock is pregnant is probably the funniest part of the movie. The screenplay won an Oscar (!) and Doris Day was nominated for one (!!). How either of those things came about from this I will never know. Must have been a slow year.