Pretty Good

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

You have some serious subject matter in this 1963 film with Lucille Ball trying desperately to get out of the kitchen and become a Broadway playwright. Trouble is that husband Bob Hope is a tough film critic who has panned his first wife's (Marilyn Maxwell) play. There is a strange relationship that Hope's son has with his mother, the Maxwell character. Apparently, she has allowed the Hope character to have full custody of the child. She is the woman where a career comes first.The film tends to go downhill near the end when a very drunken Hope causes disruption at the theater where the play is opening on opening night.Jesse Royce Landis,as Ball's mother and Rip Torn, as a Greek director,both give ample support.Lucy is not her usual Lucy here and I enjoyed her character change.

Somewhere along the line, someone (perhaps himself) told Bob Hope that he needed to change his screen persona. Instead of being a bit of a bungler at life and love -- which was very likable -- he tried to become more suave and sophisticated. Mostly, in my view, that didn't turn out too well. In fact, despite another 8 films before his film career ended, this was the last that I felt was good...and I mean darned good. So why does it tend to often get poor reviews? Very simple. While there is humor in it, this film is really a drama (with the exception of the drunk escapade, where it -- unfortunately -- becomes slapstick). And that's not what most people expect from Bob Hope or Lucille Ball. Nevertheless, Hope could be quite good at drama (e.g., "The Seven Little Foys" and "Beau James")...and is darned good here. And Lucy wasn't really a comedienne, but rather a comedic actress...there's a big difference between the two. And here she does very nicely in what is pretty much a dramatic role.As I said, there is some humor here, but it's mostly a fairly dramatic story line about the wife of a critic who writes a play. Will it be good or bad? Will he or won't he review it? And if he does, what will be the consequences? Marilyn Maxwell has a part as Hope's ex-wife (incidentally, you might want to Google Marilyn Maxwell + Bob Hope). I kept trying to figure out who the director in the film was...not quite recognizable...turned out to be a very young Rip Torn...and he was appropriately slightly sleazy...and actually quite funny. Jessie Royce Landis was always a welcome addition to any film...and usually as the mother-in-law. John Dehner was good as a Broadway producer. And it was nice to see Jim Backus as a psychiatrist! Child actor Ricky Kelman did a great job, here! At least nowadays, it's pretty clear why this film gets some negative reviews. It's very sexist. The husband/critic constantly puts his wife down for her work on writing a play; he then savages the play in a review; and then puts her in her place -- bed, after which he reviews their love-making. Unfortunately, Bob didn't realize the times were changing.It's a mixed bag with some very good acting.

Certainly not horrible considering the amount of junk Bob Hope appeared in during the 1960s. That said, it's no great shakes either. Hope is a NYC theater critic whose wife (Lucille Ball) decides to write a play. Hope, of course, is caught in a conundrum, unsure if he should support her endeavor or convince her to give up on it. It's only occasionally funny with Hope giving what amounts to an actual performance. Unfortunately, Ball is far too restrained and comes across as a bit dull. The supporting cast is pretty good, with Rip Torn as "Dion," the avant- garde stage director who takes on Ball's play (and provides a lot of fodder for the tart-tongued Hope). Jessie Royce Landis, Richard Deacon, Marie Windsor and Jim Backus are in it too. Marilyn Maxwell is funny as Hope's Broadway diva ex-wife. The unimaginative direction is by Don Weis.

based on a Broadway show by Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby) author,really bizarre tale of a theater critic and his wannabe playwright wife. Bob and Lucy appeared in other films but this one was their worst. The critic doesn't even bother to stay through the plays.He leaves in the middle and goes back to office for hatchet job. He's bombed out of his mind when he sees wife's play and then destroys it in print. How unfair is that?The idea,I suppose,was to show the folly of a wife trying to leave the nest for her own career and serving hubby was all the fulfillment she needed out of life. I saw this film when I was nine and even then I thought it was unfair Lucy didn't get to have a success as a playwright. Bob seemed pompous and overbearing,like the typical hubbys in fifties and sixties films who were threatened by their wive's success.