This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I saw this movie many years ago on TV at the age of 7. Now, the film took exactly 4 hours to play on the small screen. Note my age. Obviously I loved it or I wouldn't have kept watching it if it wasn't great, right? What I remember mostly is my being so immersed in the film I almost pissed myself cause I didn't want to miss a single moment. Seriously it's been too long I need to re-watch this film.

Directed by David Swift whose direction is anything but, Good Neighbor Sam is a complete dud with a stupid, belabored plot designed for copious product and brand name placement. Talented Jack Lemon, admirable in The China Syndrome, Glengarry Glen Ross, Avanti, Some Like It Hot and Mister Roberts, is tiresome here as he was in Under the Yum Yum Tree, Irma la Douce, Luv, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger, The War between Men and Women and How to Murder Your Wife. Dorothy Provine, the poor man's Doris Day, and lovely Romy Schneider are wasted. An over-extended sitcom that somehow made it to the big screen where it must have seen endless. Skip it!

I know this is weird, but for me the most "dated" films are those prior to the late-mid-30s and often that generation of films that were made along side the Doris Day - Rock Hudson heyday. I'm not saying they weren't entertaining, but they just seem so far removed from today's life. This is one of those films.Here, Jack Lemmon plays a mid-level advertising executive with a loving family. An important client -- played wonderfully by Edward G. Robinson latches onto Lemmon because he appears to be a "family man".Meanwhile, however, Sam meets his wife's old friend (Romy Schneider), who will inherit millions IF she is happily married. But she's on a fast track to divorce, so Lemmon agrees to act as her husband until the money is inherited. Of course, this has the potential of killing his "family man" image and displeasing the client. It gets more wacky when Schneider's actual husband shows up and begins staying in the house with Lemmon's wife. In the climax of the film, Lemmon and Schneider cavort around town defacing the ad billboards which will expose the Lemoon-Schneider deception.Okay, it's pretty funny, but oh so dated.With the exception of Robinson, none of the talented supporting actors (including Louis Nye) have very interesting parts.I was looking forward to seeing this film again after many years. I was disappointed. Perhaps worth one watching.

Producer-director David Swift also co-adapted Jack Finney's novel about a suburban divorcée outside of San Francisco who involves her neighbors in a hare-brained scheme to win a fifteen million dollar inheritance: she has to be happily married to receive the settlement, so she gets square, unassuming family man Jack Lemmon to pose as her spouse. Although far too long at 2 hours-15 minutes, the film takes a remarkably cogent approach to its slapstick merriment, and the grounded, terrific players allow the scenario to remain colorful while skillfully averting 'wackiness'. Lemmon's advertising exec (with natty spectacles) is a wonderfully low-keyed schnook, and Jack's comic confusion never boils over into bellowing territory; as his wife, Dorothy Provine is the perfect match for this Lemmon characterization (she's a good sport throughout). Edward G. Robinson's role as a dairy magnate is tiresome (he's like a guest extra in a TV sitcom), and the material slips into contrivances at about the one-hour mark, but the script is surprising: it has a good ear for dialogue and a few bright ideas, though some judicious editing was certainly called for. **1/2 from ****