| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Dudley Moore | as George Webber |
| Julie Andrews | as Samantha Taylor |
| Robert Webber | as Hugh |
| Bo Derek | as Jennifer Hanley (nee Miles) |
| Dee Wallace | as Mary Lewis |
| Sam J. Jones | as David Hanley |
| Brian Dennehy | as Donald |
| Max Shoalter | as Reverend |
| Rad Daly | as Josh Taylor |
| Nedra Volz | as Mrs. Kissell |
| James Noble | as Dr. Miles |
| Virginia Kiser | as Ethel Miles |
| John Hawker | as Covington |
| Deborah Rush | as Dental assistant |
| Don Calfa | as Neighbor |
| MPAA Rating: | R |
| Distributor: | Warner Brothers |
| Production Companies: | Geoffrey Productions; Orion Pictures |
| Release Date (US): | 10/05/1979 |
| Lifetime Box Office: | $74,865,517 |
| Production Budget: | N/A |
George Webber, a successful and well-known songwriter, is undergoing mid-life crisis. In the midst of this travail, while driving he happens to see Jennifer Miles riding in a car. He is so distracted by her beauty that he runs his car into a police cruiser. Next we see him hiding behind a potted plant in the church where Jennifer marries David Hanley. There follows an extended series of pratfalls as he and Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews) keep failing to communicate by telephone. Still obsessed by Jennifer, George flies to Mexico where he has learned she and Donald are spending their honeymoon.
Abundant nonsense follows as Webber continues to lubricate his worries with strong drink. Then, seeing Jennifer's husband David drifting off asleep on a surfboard, he rescues the sleeping bridegroom. David is in the hospital with a bad sunburn. George visits Jennifer in her hotel room, they go out to dinner, and later George has the chance to realize his wildest dream. Except...
Dudley Moore was great in Arthur as the habitual drunk threatened by the promise of a huge inheritance. Here, however, the extreme absurdity of the predicaments he gets into, and their extreme quantity, make portions of the first half of the film almost unwatchable for me. The portions that are not unwatchable are those where Julie Andrews appears. Even the long argument she has with Moore is worth watching.
The film improves when George boards the plane to Mexico. He's still drinking up a storm, and stumbles off the plane. A dizzying taxi ride gets him to his hotel, where the staff apparently have experience with inebriated guests. A few hours' sleep better his behavior; it's still clownish but not to the same absurd degree. His byplay with Don the bartender (Brian Dennehy) and his failure to "get it up" with Mary Lewis highlight the pathos of his situation (and hers.) This all points to him eventually getting the obsession with Jennifer out of his system.
As a comedy, then, this film overdoes the slapstick humor in places. It redeems itself, however, with the presence of always reliable Julie Andrews as the mature counterpoint to the childishness of Moore's character, and with Bo Derek in her first major film role as the stunningly gorgeous free spirit who inadvertently steers him back to reality.
Another good element is Hugh (Robert Webber) as George Webber's collaborator and friend. Incidentally a homosexual, Hugh also plays in contrast to George's childishness, giving him (and later Samantha) wise advice about their relationship.
I wouldn't call this a memorable film. To be honest, I bought it for the scenes with Bo Derek — and she does not disappoint.1 That said, the film has a point to make about relationships, and makes it well.
My Rating:
6 out of 10
Capsule review: Excessively absurd and abundant pratfalls by Dudley Moore spoil the first half of this film. But his performance improves when he gets to Mexico, and the other actors are on the mark throughout. The result is a passable romantic comedy which keenly lampoons the male mid-life crisis.
| IMDB Rating: 6.0 | Raters: 12,203 |
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