Memorable, crazy movie

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Captivating movie !

As Good As It Gets

'There's a Girl in My Soup' has a rather negative reputation and is considered symptomatic of the slump star Peter Sellers was in from 1968-1974. However, while a flawed film to be sure overall I think it's better and more substantial than its reputation.The opening wedding segment is particularly enjoyable and interesting; not only does it have several amusing moments but there's a short but significant montage where we see snippets of dialogue from the upper-class types at the party. They're full of bigotry, smugness and complacency and central character Robert Danvers (Peter Sellers) is clearly repelled by them.But this presents quite a contradiction for him, as his success as a TV food expert has made him part of this milieu - indeed in the public's eyes the personification of it. And this celebrity and wealth that it has brought has doubtlessly helped him seduce many women.And it's the chance meeting with Marion (Goldie Hawn) that brings out this contradiction in the open, as he desires her and her hedonistic youthful lifestyle but he's of the wrong generation and class to be a part of it. There's a long scene between Hawn and Sellers where is brought out into the open and while it isn't very funny, it's surprisingly engrossing and enjoyable to watch.When you add in these elements and the funny banter from supporting players John Comer and Diana Dors as an abrasive married pair, the first half or so is most enjoyable.Alas, the film largely throws away its potential in the second half, especially with a dreary section in France, and the film never recovers as the laughs dry up. Even more disappointing is the treatment of Marion's character as she goes from being quite perceptive (and cynical) in her opening conversation with Danvers, to being an insubstantial airhead; perhaps because that's the only way her choice in the final scene would make any sense.Overall a bit of a wasted opportunity but provides a fair bit of entertainment in the first half and Peter Sellers is always worth watching.Also, the song over the credits is very catchy!

A womanizing British television star (Peter Sellers) falls in lust quickly with a silly American groupie (Goldie Hawn) in this fluffy stinker. Sellers and Hawn make for a genuinely irresistible pair, but we have dumb situations on top of dumb situations that wear out their welcomes real quick. Sellers, who obviously cannot control his primal urges, allows himself to fall under Hawn's spell and naturally he never does seem to recover. Really nothing new here as Hawn takes off on a similar act that she had developed in "Cactus Flower" a year earlier (a role which won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1969) and Sellers continues his hilarious (but sometimes tiring) "Pink Panther" routines. Adequate way to kill some time, but critically mediocre at best. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Peter Sellers (one of my favorite actors) is mildly amusing in this 1970 turkey, but the script is so lame and insulting that even Goldie Hawn's youth (just after her Oscar win) cannot begin to pull this one out of the mud. As a skirt-chasing celeb in his 40's, Sellers mostly embarrasses himself to the nth degree.A 3 out of 10. Best performance = ? Nicky Henson plays a young study type.I hope Hawn and Sellers were paid well, because I see no other reason for tripe like this in 1970 (a very good year for films - CATCH-22, M.A.S.H., HUSBANDS, JOE, WUSA, FIVE EASY PIECES and many others). You can't win them all!

"My GOD but you're lovely."This is surely one of Sellers' most memorable characters. This guy HAS to have been a major influence on Austin Powers: he's an aging playboy, with hairy back and bad teeth, who never imagines that he's anything but irresistible to women. Goldie Hawn is the woman who won't give him what he wants when he wants it.The first hour is pure gold, some of the greatest comedy i've ever seen. Then it strangely begins to meander. Really badly. With the extended wine tasting journey, involving many pointless shots of Frenchmen drinking wine at what seems like a real wine tasting ceremony, and later on the pointless shots of scenery, very out of place in this story. I was thinking what terrific characters they were, and what a terrific comedy set-up we had here - but at the point where it starts to wonder, you realise that they'd only thought up these funny characters - but hadn't got as far as what to do with them. Thus, they also had no idea what the resolution, if any, should be. They seem to have figured that everything would work itself out once they started shooting - well, it didn't. The last half-hour is an absolute mess. I would have enjoyed it much more as a 60 minute movie, thankyou very much. As it is, we have a clumsy "resolution" scene that needed about seven re-writes, and a rather meandering, almost unnecessary last half-hour, peppered with a few good scenes (Sellers carrying Hawn over his shoulder in the lift), which unfortunately spoils what might have been one of the funniest movies i've ever seen. 6/10. The first hour is an absolute gem - i'd still recommend you see it for that.