Expected more

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Not bad for a remake. The central character is altered to suit Dudley Moore instead of Rex Harrison. Harrison was more suave. This script has Moore doing a variation of his stone roles in "Ten" and "Arthur." He gets bombed on tranquilizers during the climactic act-out and stumbles into walls and broom closets, detracting a bit from whatever sophistication the original had but making this version no less amusing.The plot. Dudley Moore is a celebrated orchestra conductor. A series of mistakes leads him to conclude that his wife, Nastasja Kinski, is having an affair with a man who wears argyle socks. There is a furious search for argyle socks, with Moore ducking under the tables of fancy restaurants to check the socks worn by his companions. It's an old scene, this ducking under restaurant tables, but Moore pulls it off as well as anyone could. The only argyle socks he can find are those worn by his friend, the violinist Armand Assante.Moore concocts a scheme to kill his wife and frame the violinist for the murder. The scheme isn't so much improbable as it is impossible, but it's funny enough in fantasy. When Moore tries to pull it off, everything goes wrong, of course, and the movie more or less collapses into frenzy.Moore is good at these kinds of roles. God knows he's had enough practice. And he's a likable chap. It's difficult to envision him in an action movie -- "My Knife Is Quick", or something. Armand Assante is fine in a comedy. The first impression he makes is one of beefy, self-confident masculinity, but he's quite good in comic roles and is capable of self ridicule in a way that, say, Sylvester Stallone is not. Of Nastassja Kinski, what is there to say? She's sinewy, stunningly beautiful, more animated than usual, and edible.Not a masterpiece but enjoyable.

I haven't watched this movie all the way through since I saw it at the theater when it was new and I was totally blown away by just how *not* funny the movie is. I have tried over the years to watch this movie again and maybe get a new perspective of it but I can't watch more than 5-10 minutes of it on television before I have to flip the channel. The basic premise of the movie is the same as every episode of "Three's Company" where one misinterpreted situation leads to an unintended chain of events that are supposed to be humorous but mostly they are not. In this movie, a newly married man goes to great lengths to plot and carry out murdering his much younger wife and framing her (supposed) lover who also happens to be his best friend which I don't find humorous instead I find it rather disturbing. It should have been a horror film, the premise would have worked better in that format. In the end we are supposed to feel sorry for this guy and understand why someone could easily make the same mistake he did....WTF? Yet even with a terrible story, if you like watching Dudley Moore act drunk or high and falling/stumbling all over almost every scene then you might like this movie...

I suppose remakes are rarely eligible for best picture nominations, but the story and the way this film presents it is wonderful. Jealousy and mistaken identity make a great plot. I'm sure it is much more enjoyable than any other 1984 film nominated for best picture. I admit I have not seen the 1948 original and perhaps if it comes on cable/satellite TV I will. I would like to know if the same music is used. The music, Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto, 1st Movement", what a fine and difficult symphony. Then there is the dueling violins scene using Vittorio Monti's "Czardas," excellent passionate music for the passion Dudley Moore's character feels about his wife played by Natassia Kinski. Dudley Moore and Armande Asante make as good a team as Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, but without the foul language. This movie is clean and has substance.

Moore shines bright in this reworking of the 1948 Preston Sturges black comedy about a jealous symphony conductor who tries to fulfill a fantasy of murdering his sexy wife, (Kinski) whom he suspects is having an affair with another man. (Assante) It doesn't have the timing of the original, but it's a laugh riot for fans of Moore's bumbling hijinks, which as always is a torrent of laughter.