Am I Missing Something?

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

If it's Hawn, it's got to be quirky. And so this generally delightful comedy is. Hawn and Matthau are tangled in romantic relationships both real and faked, while Bergman is a humdrum middle-age cactus but with flower potential. The hijinks all center around Matthau's dental office where Bergman bustles around as his dourly efficient nurse. At the same time, middle-age Matthau carries on with youthful cutie Hawn, while her half-clothed neighbor drops in and out at bad times. And to further complicate, other colorful characters come and go from both the office and everyone else's life. Getting this all straightened out is the problem, especially after it's all premised on Matthau's fat lie to lover Hawn that he's married. If this sounds congested, it is, but then there's 100+ minutes to fill.In fact I think the movie's impact would improve if 20 or so minutes were shaved, especially from an over-extended last part. Nonetheless, it's a delightful cast, especially the big-eyed Hawn in her first big role. She's like a spunky blonde pixie, fully deserving of her supporting Oscar. At the same time, Bergman does the nurse's dour personality in expert fashion. It's her first in-America production since the '40's (IMDB), but you'd never know it. Then too, snappy dialogue along with smooth direction keep things moving before getting somewhat repetitious. And I especially like chunky Jack Weston and his unlikely choice of girlfriends.All in all, it's a chuckle-filled Goldie Hawn showcase from Columbia Productions that loses little to the decades.

Toni Simmons (Goldie Hawn) tries to commit suicide by gas stove, after getting stood up, only to be rescued by writer neighbor Igor Sullivan. She's a 21-year-old record shop girl desperately in love with Dr. Julian Winston (Walter Matthau). What started out as a fling with the married dentist with three kids has become a year long love affair. Julian agrees to get a divorce and marry Toni. In reality, he's a commitment-phobic playboy who created a fake marriage with kids to avoid every single women pushing to get married. Now he's finally ready for marriage but he has to fix the lie. He recruits his cold and efficient assistant Stephanie Dickinson (Ingrid Bergman) to play his wife. Despite working together for many years, all he knows about her is her prickly cactus on her desk. After Stephanie's talk to Toni about the divorce, Toni becomes convinced that Stephanie still loves Julian. Julian tells Toni that Stephanie already has a new boyfriend and recruits his weasel friend Harvey Greenfield (Jack Weston) to play the part. It only gets more complicated from there.Goldie Hawn has a fun energy. Ingrid Bergman has a Scandinavian coldness with a hot interior. It's a little harder to believe Walter Matthau as a playboy but he is able to keep the character as a good guy. It fits the times. The chemistry between the three stars is terrific. The story is a solid rom-com. There isn't any surprising twist but that's perfectly fine. The final pairings are never in doubt. This is a great crossing between two iconic goddesses, one starting her journey and one nearing the end. The fun material is elevated by the actors.

When I saw the name, Gene Saks, listed as director on the poster outside the cinema, I almost turned tail and ran. As a director, Mr. Saks is not noted for his glossy visual style. In fact, he is hopelessly dull. If you don't believe me, just try to watch this movie. Fortunately, it has a hard-working cast. Ingrid Bergman has to bear the weight of Mr. Saks's deadly dull direction. She puts up a game battle and spends most of her scenes force-feeding funny lines to the likes of Walter Matthau, Jack Weston and Goldie Hawn. This does get rather tiresome, particularly as Miss Bergman is none too flatteringly photographed by Charles Lang, of all people! Lang is usually a really masterful cameraman (156 credits, including 3 wins and 17 nominations) but he was probably bored stiff by Saks's lifeless direction and his insistence on insipid camera angles. I'm not familiar with the original play, so I can't judge how well I.A.L. Diamond has jazzed it up, but I certainly expected something more in the way of wit from Billy Wilder's frequent collaborator. To sum this movie up: Dull, dull, dull!

A dentist, Walther Matthau, is determined not to marry his girl friend, Goldie Hawn, so as an excuse he invents for himself a wife and three children. Hawn, however, wants marriage and one thing leads to another until Matthau must enlist his prim and prudish dental assistant, Ingrid Bergman, to play the part of his fictional wife. Other characters come and go -- the young artist next door who is Matthau's rival for Hawn; Jack Weston as Matthau's friend who simply won't pay his dental bills; Vito Scotti as the lecherous Latin who would love to lay hands on Bergman if only she didn't loathe him.It ought to be funnier than it is. The dialog sounds as if it were meant to be shocking, but I don't know who would have been shocked, even in 1969. Maybe some church-goers in Pella, Iowa.I'll give you the two cutest moments. (1) Matthau distractedly deals with Bergman, not noticing that she's wearing a mink he'd earlier given to Hawn, and then returns to his office. It takes a full minute for the mink to sink in. Delayed double takes are usually funny and this one is as good as any. (2) Matthau is talking to Bergman about his friendship with Jack Weston. "Listen, I can't ask Harvey to pay his bill. We've been close for years. He's a good friend. I just can't do it -- you do it." Aside from that it's all rather forced. It's like watching a Rock Hudson - Doris Day comedy without the clever lines and situations. The strenuous effort put into making the thing work is on full display. One can almost hear the creaking of joints.Matthau is fine. His earlier villainous roles were never as convincing as his sardonic slouchers. Ingrid Bergman does her best. Goldie Hawn, alas, is more goofy than attractive. Her locutions come straight from "Laugh In" and make up has emphasized her enormous blue eyes to the point of caricature.Too bad it wasn't better. They must have tried hard.