Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

"Houseboat" proves that being a Cary Grant film is NOT a guarantee for entertainment. This film simply does not work. It feels odd for many reasons. It is said that Grant was once in love with his co-star Sophia Loren and, since she married Carlo Ponti, he did not want to make this film. This is likely to be true because there are only a few love scenes and they all look somehow forced. He looks quite unhappy in most scenes with her and she, although pretty to look at, also seems to be inhibited to be close to him. At one point of the film I started to wish that he would marry his sister-in-law instead. That would have made more sense.But these personal riffs are not the only reason why the film falls flat on the face. The screenplay is to blame for most of the problems. The story cannot decide between being a serious approach about parental problems, in particular widowed fathers who have lost contact to their children, and a lighthearted comedy about a father of three getting an Italian housekeeper who is too pretty to be ignored and shows the father how to treat children well.If that would not be enough there is a sister-in-law, quite nice and pretty too, and loved by the children as well, who is madly in love with Grant and he seems to like her too. And there is Sophia's father, a famous Italian conductor, who is a cardboard-type of Italian protective parent. What is very annoying too, is, there is a lot of harsh language on all sides, fathers, children, ladies and others and two incidents of slapping faces, both without real reason and therefore the more surprising and even shocking.The whole thing probably could have been handled well in the hands of an experienced director, like Stanley Donen or Blake Edwards, who have an ear for bad dialogue, and there is plenty of this in the film. But Melville Shavelson was definitely the wrong guy to steer this project. Many scenes are wasted by discussing things over and over again, but no good points are made. And it looks like Grant REALLY felt uncomfortable with the kids.As other reviewers already pointed out, there are so many visual faults: 1. The house on the railway tracks run down by a train, and we don't see the impact, just a few splinters flying towards Cary Grant; 2. The houseboat, completely wasted as a source for fun; 3. Too many badly done rear projection and "outdoor" studio settings; 4. and the worst, the strange complexion of Sofia Loren, she looks so dark as if she were an African American. And much too old, although she was 24 at the time! And then there are these awful texts the children had to say, they constantly talk and act like diminutive grown-ups!The whole film has an unsatisfactory, even sick feeling, as if you watch people constantly making the wrong decisions and the happy end never felt so wrong as in this film. Sorry folks who admire this film, but this had to be said. Fully agree with the author of WRONG WIFE.

Cary Grant and Sophia Loren in a romantic comedy about a man who was to be divorced only to lose his wife in a car accident. She has left him with 3 precocious children. He has neglected them as he is a government official.The children are filled with love but despair. In the midst of this is Martha Hyer, Grant's sister-in-law, who has recently separated from her husband and has confessed openly that she wants Grant.In the interim, we have a lovely Sophia Loren, who wishes to break away from her conductor father. Meeting Loren by chance, the film focuses how they fall in love.Everything seems to be going on track until the children, who at first loved Cinzia, (Loren) are upset that they may be losing their dad to this marriage. Of course, we still have Hyer who nearly marries her brother-in-law.Hyer captures the same upper-class figure that she expressed so well in "Some Came Running." She received a supporting nomination the same year for the latter film.There is also a nice supporting performance by Harry Guardino as a gigolo. It is his incompetence that leads all to the houseboat.The film belongs to Grant and Miss Loren. They truly capture the feeling of a daring government employee who tries to redeem himself among his children and a woman who seeks love desperately.The film is also memorable as it depicts class status.

I agree with "WRONG WIFE" post. A train hits their new home-in-tow and instead of a collision the viewer just sees some (fake) lumber thrown onto their car. The other stupid stunt is that Cary Grant is dressed in a dapper white tuxedo and walks along the gangway to the houseboat for the first time. It breaks under his weight. He sinks, but the shot is above the water so we just see his silly "woops I am sinking" expression. We don't see him sink into the water. In the very next scene he is completely clean and dry-wearing the same white tux. The houseboat itself is equally artificial. It looks a mess at first. But with a little paint, and some Hollywood magic dust, all of a sudden it appears to be a typical, cozy, middle class home. Equally puzzling is the scene where the houseboat drifts off at high tide and anchors onto the edge of an island. The guy they bought the houseboat from cruises up to it in his speedboat. Cary Grant is stranded, late for work. The guy shrugs and tells Grant that he will need to wait till high tide to get the houseboat towed back, before he can get to his job. Why didn't the guy just give him a ride to shore on his speedboat? I also agree the kids were annoying and shallow and not worthy of Sophia's attention.

I've commented on about 2000 films. I can find something interesting in just about any film, the worse the better. But this is not just a bad movie, it is offensive.I'm not just talking about what would suggest sexual abuse in today's context. Every element is the worst of the Hollywood formula system: — the way that one of the world's most glamorous women is made up and photographed as actually ugly.— the vapid appeal to "Saturday Post" notions of religion, something that would offend even a Texas fundamentalist.— the completely valueless and nonsensical dynamics of the romantic situation on both sides: the sister-in-law cum lover then dumped and the presumably hotblooded impetuous runaway daughter cum maid then second wife.— the blatant theft of the Buster Keaton bit about the train hitting the house, except all we see are some Styrofoam boards thrown toward Grant.— the promising setup of the houseboat that is utterly ignored.— the bankable humor of Grant that seems to have been deliberately avoided at every opportunity. Add to this the other characters, so poorly drawn they don't even qualify as cartoons.— the Edith Head costumes that are unflattering, uninteresting _and_ unphotogenic.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.